Reviews

" Colman' s guileless voice is appealing. . . . Fierce Wise Child, gentle Juniper, and curmudgeonly Euny [draw] upon Furlong' s unique brand of earthly wisdom and white magic to restore harmony." -- "Booklist," Boxed Review
" A satisfying and comforting tale for a world in which evil seems to hold the best cards in the deck." -- Nancy Farmer
" A tale of sea voyages, devastation, courage and fear, and the importance of love and loyalty." -- Karen Cushman

"Colman's guileless voice is appealing. . . . Fierce Wise Child, gentle Juniper, and curmudgeonly Euny [draw] upon Furlong's unique brand of earthly wisdom and white magic to restore harmony."--"Booklist," Boxed Review
"A satisfying and comforting tale for a world in which evil seems to hold the best cards in the deck."--Nancy Farmer
"A tale of sea voyages, devastation, courage and fear, and the importance of love and loyalty."--Karen Cushman

" Colman' s guileless voice is appealing. . . . Fierce Wise Child, gentle Juniper, and curmudgeonly Euny [draw] upon Furlong' s unique brand of earthly wisdom and white magic to restore harmony." -- "Booklist," Boxed Review
" A satisfying and comforting tale for a world in which evil seems to hold the best cards in the deck." -- Nancy Farmer
" A tale of sea voyages, devastation, courage and fear, and the importance of love and loyalty." -- Karen Cushman
"Colman's guileless voice is appealing. . . . Fierce Wise Child, gentle Juniper, and curmudgeonly Euny [draw] upon Furlong's unique brand of earthly wisdom and white magic to restore harmony."--"Booklist," Boxed Review
"A satisfying and comforting tale for a world in which evil seems to hold the best cards in the deck."--Nancy Farmer
"A tale of sea voyages, devastation, courage and fear, and the importance of love and loyalty."--Karen Cushman

Gr 6-8-This suspenseful novel concludes the saga that Furlong began in Wise Child (Turtleback, 1987) and Juniper (Knopf, 1992; o.p.), with the main characters returning to Juniper's home kingdom where she was a princess. For those who have not read the first two books, the beginning will be confusing. As the tale unfolds and the characters' personalities become evident, readers should be able to pick up the thread and follow the action. Juniper has been trained as a doran, a person with special magical gifts who strives for good in the universe. Wise Child is her apprentice, and Colman is their young friend. Another key ally from the earlier books is Cormac, a disfigured man whom Juniper has healed from leprosy. When this intrepid group arrives in Cornwall, they learn that Juniper's parents are dead. Her evil aunt, Meroot, and Meroot's Gray Knight have seized control of the kingdom and severely oppressed the people. Colman, Cormac, and Wise Child go to the palace and spy on Meroot, who is using Juniper's brother, Prince Brangwyn, the rightful heir, as a sort of regent to blackmail the survivors of the realm. The plot grows ever more complex as Juniper's mentor is found to be in service to Meroot and the children are captured and thrown in a dungeon. The story will keep readers turning pages right up to the satisfying resolution. Overall, this title is a powerful conclusion to the trilogy, but it does not stand alone as well as the other two volumes.-Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.