Author: Alethea Kontis
Publisher: Harcourt
Rating: WORTHY!
This novel, I learned after I had picked it up from the library and got it home, is book 2 of a series. There's nothing on the cover to indicate this. Fortunately, it appears that you can read this volume without having read the first one; at least I got into it without too much trouble. It appears to be a mash-up of fairy tales, and its predecessor, Enchanted which I also review, is even moreso. There is a third novel in this series titled Dearest which I've not yet read, but which I plan on doing so as soon as I get a chance!
The main protagonist is Saturday, one of several sisters named after days of the week. All of her sisters seem to have a magical power, but Saturday does not. She does, however, have a charmed sword, which helps heal her when she's sick or injured, and which gives her vigor and strength when she uses it, but only if she can remain in contact with it. This wonderful weapon doesn't seem to avail her much, however, when she's picked up by a giant bird and delivered to the mountain lair of an evil witch who is seeking revenge on the lone male sibling in this family, Jack Woodcutter.
Yes, indeed! So why did the witch pick up Saturday Woodcutter? Well, the witch is blind and not too smart! So now Saturday has to perform three impossible tasks and then reveal to the witch where the eyes are that Jack cut out of her head. Saturday's sword is confiscated by the witch, so she's not exactly at her best. Fortunately, she does have Peregrine, a guy who is also a prisoner, and who is on Saturday's side. The witch has him in a dress because she thinks Peregrine is her not-so-dead daughter. He's also apparently cursed with a need to let his feminine side have free reign. I loved this reversal of what have become tediously tired roles in YA fiction, especially in the dystopian and fantasy genres.
The relationship between Peregrine and Saturday is remarkable, unusual, and most welcome. Indeed, everything about this novel is most welcome because it is such a departure from the norm. Peregrine, rather than being the studly, hair-in-his-eyes, muscular paragon of manliness in run-of-the-mill YA literature, takes a back-seat to the somewhat androgynous Saturday, who is strong (and in many ways), and represents a huge spit in the eye of your typical weak, boring, and clueless YA teen female main character.
Peregrine and Saturday get to know each other as they interact in the endlessly winding cavern tunnels of the giant mountain in which both are held prisoner. They're accompanied by Betwixt, an unpredictably morphing chimera who is one of the more amusing characters here and who is also a prisoner. Indeed, it would seem that every character in the mountain lair is a prisoner, even the Lorelei - the evil demon witch - herself.
The witch has an escape plan which Saturday unwittingly switches into high gear, but even as the witch sets about quickly moving her plan forwards, Saturday begins to learn two important things: first that she's not as bereft of magic as she has grown up believing herself to be, and second, that if the witch succeeds in her plan, it will most assuredly bring about the end of the world.
I have a new strong, female character to add to my collection: Saturday Woodcutter, who is a breath of fresh air. This is the kind of woman we need far more of in YA fiction. She's feisty, can-do, strong - not merely physically, but mentally, and she's amusing, interesting, and engaging. I couldn't have asked for a better main character.
I highly recommend this novel and look forward to reading more volumes in this series.
