kate forsyth – Aussie Reviews

Escape from Wolfhaven castle, by Kate Forsyth

The wild man looked down at the huge dog and said, ‘Quiet now.’

To Tom’s surprise, Fergus stopped growling, his ears pricking forward. He wagged his shaggy tail.

‘Tell your lord,’ the wild man repeated, urgency in his voice, ‘danger comes.’ Then he turned and loped away through the forest. As he disappeared into the shadows, he flung back his head and howled like a wolf. An answering howl came from the east.

Tom is just a kitchen hand, so when the wild man in the woods tells him that danger is coming, nobody wants to take Tom’s concerns seriously. But the wild man is right – danger is closer than anyone can guess. Soon Tom is on a quest – an impossible one – with Elanor the Lord’s daughter, Sebastian, a knight in training and Quinn, apprentice to the witch. Together they must escape the castle and then set out to find four magical beasts.

Escape from Wolfhaven Castle is the first in an exciting new fantasy series for younger readers, The Impossible Quest. The young characters are varied and each intriguing in their own way, the situation gripping and the cast of supporting characters also strong. Along with a fast moving plot and plenty of twists and turns, there is plenty here to hook young readers and have them eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

Escape from Wolfhaven Castle (Impossible Quest)

Escape from Wolfhaven Castle, by Kate Forsyth
Scholastic, 2014
ISBN 9781743624067

Available online and from good bookstores.

Two Selkie Stories from Scotland by Kate Forsyth, ill Fiona McDonald

A long time ago, on Midsummer’s Eve, as the sun was setting over the wild ocean waves, a young Scottish laird named Dougal McPhee was riding home to his stern grey castle. A faint haunting song reached his ears, blowing on the wind over the cliffs from the shore below.

Peering over the edge he saw a dozen people with wild hair and dark eyes, men, women and children, all with wreaths of seaweed upon their heads, dancing and laughing and playing on the sand.

‘Two Selkie Stories from Scotland’ retells two ancient tales. The first, ‘The Selkie Bride’ tells the story of the love of a laird for a Selkie woman and his efforts to make her happy away from her ocean home. The second, ‘In the Kingdom of the Seals’ recounts the tale of a seal-hunter trying to make a living and a Selkie who shows him the world beneath the waves. Each story is illustrated in colour with Celtic design header and footer. This is a sturdy paperback in large format, ideal for sharing with young children at bedtime.

Traditional tales are part entertainment, part life-lesson. Selkie stories are common around the beaches and islands where seals come ashore. They are magical stories imagining humans able to live both on land and at sea. What a wonderful imagining! They teach young readers about respecting animals and appreciating that each creature has its place in the world. But primarily they are great tales, to be shared and preserved for all readers. This offering from new publisher Christmas Press is the first in a planned series of traditional tale pairs from around the world. Recommended for young readers, and anyone with a love of traditional stories.

cover in a4

Two Selkie Stories from Scotland, Kate Forsyth ill Fiona McDonald Christmas Press 2014 ISBN: 9780992283827

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

I had always been a great talker and teller of tales.

‘You should put a lock on that tongue of yours. It’s long enough and sharp enough to slit your own throat,’ our guardian warned me, the night before I left home to go to the royal court at Versailles. He sat at the head of the long wooden table in the chateau’s arched dining room, lifting his lip in distaste as the servents brought us our usual peasant fare of sausage and white-bean cassoulet. He had not accustomed himself to our simple Gascon ways, not even after four years.

I just laughed. ‘Don’t you know a woman’s tongue is her sword! You wouldn’t want me to let my only weapon rust, would you?’

It is 1666 in France and Charlotte-Rose is summonsed to the court of Louis XII. In 1590 Margherita meets Selena Leonelli for the first time. In Venice in 1580 a desperate girl engages the skills of the sorceress Selena Leonelli, better known as the muse of artist Tiziano. Three stories, spread across two countries and more than a century, the telling slips back and forth through time. ‘Bitter Greens’ is the story of Rapunzel by another name. Just as Rapunzel was known by many names. It is the story of beauty and its costs; of what it was to be a woman; of choices seized and choices removed. Three women of their times reveal their worlds, their strengths and challenges.

What a grand novel! Bitter Greensstitches together the richest fabric, multi-hued and glorious, from threads both fine and coarse. Part fairy tale, part history, part magic, it pulls you in and refuses to let you go. Along the way, there are so many twists and turns, each one a new thread to be sewn until the picture is complete. Charlotte-Rose and Selena tell their stories in the first person, while Margherita’s is told in third person. Quotes from Rupunzel retellings preface each section and remind how a story is shaped by the teller as they make it their own. Bitter Greensexamines the French court, the wildness of Venice and the superstition and fragility of both. It is a story that lingers in the mind, long after the final page is turned.

Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth, Vintage 2012 ISBN: 9781741668452

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

The Wildkin's Curse, by Kate Forsyth

Next shall be the king-breaker, the king-maker,
Though broken himself he shall be.

Zedrin, Merry and Liliana are very different – Zedrin is a starkin lord, Merry is a hearthkin boy and Liliana is a wildkin girl – yet the three must journey together on a perilous, secret mission to rescue a Princess.

Princess Rozalina is a powerful enchantress and a wildkin princess, cruelly imprisoned in a crystal tower. Her three rescuers must use all their combined skills to rescue her.

A companion to The Starhorn Tree, The Wildkin’s Curse is an exciting fantasy tale set in a magical world filled with magic, heroes and villains, about the power of stories. With a diverse cast of characters, both likeable heroes and clearly portrayed villains, this will delight young fantasy fans.

The Wildkin’s Curse, by Kate Forsyth
Pan Macmillan, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Puzzle Ring, by Kate Forsyth

Hannah Rose Brown was not quite thirteen years old when she discovered her family was cursed.
The day she first heard about the curse of Wintersloe Castle was the day her life was slashed in two, as if by a silver sword. Behind her was an ordinary life, just like any other girl’s. Ahead was a life shadowed with mystery and menace and magic.

Hannah has never met her father, who disappeared the day after she was born. So, when a letter comes from her great-grandmother asking her and her mother to come to Scotland, Hannah is determined to go.

In Scotland Hannah discovers that not only is she the heir to a castle, but that her family has been suffering a mysterious curse for over four hundred years. Only the person who finds and solves the puzzle ring can lift the curse. Hannah is determined that she will be the one.

The Puzzle Ring is a wonderful time-travel fantasy, taking readers from Australia to Scotland, then back in time to the days of Mary, Queen of Scots. Hannah befriends three children her own age (all born in the same Scottish town as Hannah within days of each other) and the four work together to find the pieces of the puzzle ring, save Hannah’s father and restore the family’s good fortune.

The Puzzle Ring is an absorbing blend of action, fantasy and mystery, with the different threads coming together in a satisfying resolution. Suitable for upper primary aged readers.

The Puzzle Ring, by Kate Forsyth
Pan Macmillan, 2009

This book can be purchased online at Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.