I, Coriander

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

I was enchanted by Coriander, a new fairy tail. It draws elements from classic fairy tales such as wicked stepmothers, fairies, shape-shifting, and magic shoes. Yet Coriander has her own, unique story to tell. The setting and character development was excellent, which is really what hooked me. And, there is something to it that reminds me of Sally Lockhart for some reason--is it the writing style, the setting, or what?

The book description and the School Library Journal review say it is for 6th-8th grade, but I think it may have broader appeal. I would have enjoyed it when I was in high school, perhaps others would too. Particularly struggling readers, reluctant readers, or just teens who like fantasy and imagination.

Below is the book description from Gardner's website:

"The story is told by Coriander, daughter of a silk merchant in 1650s London. Her idyllic childhood ends when her mother dies and her father goes away, leaving Coriander with her stepmother, a widow who is in cahoots with a fundamentalist Puritan preacher. She is shut away in a chest and left to die, but emerges into the fairy world from which her mother came, and where time has no meaning. When she returns, charged with a task that will transform her life, she is seventeen.

This is a book filled with enchantments -- a pair of silver shoes, a fairy shadow, a prince transformed into a fox - that contrast with the heartbreaking loss and cruelty of Coriander's life in the real world. With its brilliantly realized setting of old London Bridge, and underpinned by the conflict between Royalists and Puritans, it is a terrific page turner, involving kidnapping, murder and romance, and an abundance of vivid characters."