The Thorn Queen
by Elise Holland (Author)
Welcome to Glendoch!
Hidden to most, this glacial world once crackled with alchemy. Now it waits for war--divided and bound by strict rules. So when twelve-year-old Meylyne falls from a tree onto Glendoch's sickly prince, she must flee or face imprisonment in the Shadow-Cellars. The only way she may return home is with a cure for the prince's peculiar disease. Convinced she will perish, Meylyne and her companions embark on their journey--and before they know it, they are knee-deep in a plot to sink Glendoch into shadow, like other worlds before it. Poisoned guardians, cursed wizards, and cunning witch-spirits bound into wands are just some of the dangers that dot the way of their travels. And behind it all is the Thorn Queen.
Mysteriously magnetic (or murderously vengeful, depending on whose side you're on), she is always one step ahead of them . . .
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School Library Journal
This new middle grade fantasy introduces readers to the trilevel world of Glendoch and its surrounding queendom. Hidden from most of the world by glacial ice and composed of an Above, Between, and Beneath realm, Glendoch was once so supersaturated with alchemy that the presence of magic appeared as suspended precipitation in the atmosphere. At one time, the three realms cooperated in sustaining Glendoch's powerful magic through shared leadership but is now in literal turmoil from the stringently bound sanctions of the fearful Royals, whose ranks have been infiltrated by an unknown entity. When 12-year-old Meylyne, an inhabitant of the cavernous Between, sneaks into the Above town of Tyr to retrieve her mother's long lost black opal, she knows that if caught she could be charged with trespassing. Her mixed-species progeny is also prohibited, but because she inherited more of her mother's human characteristics than the birdlike traits of her infamous father, she is shielded from instant detection. Fueled by advice from an ancient well, Meylyne sets out on a quest that, if successful, will save not only herself and the young prince, but the future of the entire Queendom. The phantasmagoria of Holland's world-building is effortless in this topsy-turvy world where perceived evil and perceived good exchange places as each hidden layer of the narrative is thoughtfully revealed. VERDICT Hand this skillfully written fantasy to fans of Maile Meloy's The Apothecary, Michael Scott's The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Corneilia Funke's Inkheart, and Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander.—Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
Fantasy
Wizards
Mothers and daughters
Kings, queens, rulers, etc
Princes
Queens
