From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7--In this inventive and unusual fantasy, Midge, 11, is staying on her uncle's farm while her violinist mother is on tour. She is drawn into a disused barn by the "sound" of words inside her head--the voice of a small winged horse, one of the fairy folk, or "the Various," as they call themselves. She becomes involved in their dramas and adventures as she tries to ensure that their Forest, which her uncle plans to sell to a developer, remains safe for them to live in. Augarde's fairies are very much of this world: concrete and well realized in all of their physical details, down to their tattered clothes made from scraps of fabric. The climactic scene is exciting, and the one in which one of the Various shoots an arrow into the gigantic and fierce farmyard cat and kills it is powerfully visceral. There is an air of contrivance in the story's resolution, however, as it is through events in the adult world of Midge's family that the Forest is saved. This is somewhat anticlimactic, as the efforts of the Various to save themselves turn out to have been unnecessary. Midge's character is clearly delineated, but other human characters are less well developed. The strength of the novel lies in the sense of atmosphere, and the portrayal of the fairy characters, particularly Pegs, the winged horse. There are plot elements that do not come to fruition, which might indicate that a sequel is planned.
--Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-8. Like the little folk of fairy lore, the Various are knee-high beings rarely glimpsed by humans, but they aren't ethereal, carefree sprites. Confined by human encroachment to a single patch of English forest, they eke out a hardscrabble existence. When a 12-year-old human girl, Midge, learns of the Various and brings news that developers may be bulldozing their refuge, Midge is the first target of the tribes' panicked violence. Augarde provides plenty of details to tickle the imagination--from a tiny, mystical winged horse and a missing talisman that may have been stolen by Midge's great-aunt to tremors of a coming shakedown within the Various' unfair caste system. Painstakingly crafted right down to dialects spoken by the tribes, this sweeping fantasy will engross fans of the "little people" genre (think
The Borrowers) as well as works such as
Watership Down, which open a window to a previously unimagined society in peril. Hints that Midge and the Various have not yet seen the last of each other will gratify children aching for answers to the many unresolved questions.
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.