From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up--This horror story is set in the same world that Calhoun created in
Firegold (Winslow, 1999), but takes place 400 years earlier. Rose Chandler, 15, is a bondgirl on Greengarden Orchard. She is too ugly to attract a husband, or so she is often told, and too fearful and disabled by fits of asthma to do much more than lead an old ox around the orchard. Her timidity attracts the attention of the orchard's owner, Mr. Brae, who wants an heir and needs a compliant girl to help him get one. He makes an irresistible offer to Rose's parents--status, possessions, and freedom from bondage--in exchange for Rose's hand in marriage to the monstrous grandson he has kept locked in the attic since birth. Everyone at Greengarden fears "The Thing," who is rumored to feed on human flesh, but the teen finds the inner reserves to accept the offer, both for the sake of her family and even more for her secret desire to own and nurture the orchard. The book stands on its own as a complete story, but is even better as a companion to
Firegold, clearing up some of the mysteries of the first novel and linking people, places, and cultures from past and future together. Either way, this is a satisfying read.
--Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Fifteen-year-old Rose loves the Greengarden orchards and worries that the Dalriadas, barbarians from the Red Mountain, will destroy the Valley's agrarian civilization. Rose also fears the monstrous "Thing" locked in the attic of the Bighouse, home of Mr. Brae, master of Greengarden. Brae's only child, Amberly, died giving birth to the monster no one has seen. Nearly everyone, however, has heard his furious ranting. After her parents make a deal with Master Brae, Rose finds herself betrothed to the monster and expected to produce an heir. Visiting the attic only in the dark of night, Rose comes to know Raymont, who is not a monster, and becomes pregnant with his child. Threatened by Brae and haunted by Amberly, Rose discovers a family secret that has an impact on the fate of her baby and the future of the Valley. Brooding and atmospheric, sensual but not sexually graphic, this gripping fantasy questions the nature of such cultural components as family, race, and war, without sacrificing the story. Fans of
Firegold (1999) will not be disappointed in this companion novel.
Linda PerkinsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
