Heretic by Sarah Singleton
Aug. 7th, 2014 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”My name’s Elizabeth,” she said. “What’s yours?”
It wrinkled its face, knowing not to try and force the remembering but to let it happen of its own accord. It closed its eyes. Elizabeth waited patiently.
The child dropped its face forward and cleared its thoughts, and at last a doorway seemed to open in its mind. The child gave a huge, profound sigh, through its entire body. It turned to Elizabeth.
“Isabella,” it said. “My name is Isabella Margaret Leland.”
When Elizabeth finds a green-tinged creature in the woods she’s amazed to discover that it’s actually a girl of her own age. Isabella has spent the last 300 years deep in the faery world, hiding from persecutors who accused her of being the daughter of a witch. But Elizabeth has her own persecutors to face. A catholic priest is hiding with her family – an act of treason in 1586 – and the net is closing in. As they become friends, Elizabeth and Isabella must find a way to save the family from being torn apart …
It’s 1586. 12-year-old Elizabeth Dyer is a Catholic in a time when Queen Elizabeth has decreed that Catholics are heretics. She and her family are viewed with suspicion by the other town folk and her father’s gone to Italy to try to save his business. Elizabeth secretly tends a local Catholic shrine and it’s there that she meets Isabella, a strange girl with green tinged skin from the year 1240. Isabella was the daughter of a mid-wife accused of witchcraft and for the last 300 years she’s been hiding in the faery world with her younger brother.
The two girls form an unusual friendship but Elizabeth’s world is shaken with the arrival of a young nobleman called Kit Merrivale who’s charged with finding a Catholic priest believed to be hiding in the town. That priest is hiding in Elizabeth’s house and as Merrivale draws closer, it’s up to the girls to find a way to save Elizabeth’s family …
Sarah Singleton’s middle grade historical fantasy novel is a solid tale of persecution with a time travelling twist. There are some good elements in the book – particularly the sections in the faery world, which are creepy and vivid – and I enjoyed the portrayal of Elizabeth’s patron, Lady Catherine, a former court artist now consigned to her great house who falls for the gossip and flattery of the odious Merrivale. However neither Elizabeth or Isabella really came alive for me and while it’s interesting to read a book that looks at religious persecution, there’s no recognition by Elizabeth’s family of the persecution Queen Mary wrecked on Protestants when they lament their troubles, which I found a little troubling (although historically accurate). Ultimately, it’s an okay read rather than a great one but I would check out Singleton’s other work.
I didn’t really believe in Elizabeth and Isabella’s friendship because it occurs far too quickly on the page without any real build up. I actually found Elizabeth’s relationship with Lady Catherine more interesting as Catherine tries to protect her but ultimately underestimates Merrivale’s agenda. The best sections are those set in the faery world, which have an eerie quality as the faeries play tricks on both girls for their own entertainment and a scene where Elizabeth loses all hope is particularly disturbing.
Although this book didn’t do it for me, there was enough here to ensure that I would read Singleton’s other work.
The Verdict:
Sarah Singleton’s middle grade historical fantasy novel is a solid tale of persecution with a time travelling twist. There are some good elements in the book – particularly the sections in the faery world, which are creepy and vivid – and I enjoyed the portrayal of Elizabeth’s patron, Lady Catherine, a former court artist now consigned to her great house who falls for the gossip and flattery of the odious Merrivale. However neither Elizabeth or Isabella really came alive for me and while it’s interesting to read a book that looks at religious persecution, there’s no recognition by Elizabeth’s family of the persecution Queen Mary wrecked on Protestants when they lament their troubles, which I found a little troubling (although historically accurate). Ultimately, it’s an okay read rather than a great one but I would check out Singleton’s other work.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
It wrinkled its face, knowing not to try and force the remembering but to let it happen of its own accord. It closed its eyes. Elizabeth waited patiently.
The child dropped its face forward and cleared its thoughts, and at last a doorway seemed to open in its mind. The child gave a huge, profound sigh, through its entire body. It turned to Elizabeth.
“Isabella,” it said. “My name is Isabella Margaret Leland.”
When Elizabeth finds a green-tinged creature in the woods she’s amazed to discover that it’s actually a girl of her own age. Isabella has spent the last 300 years deep in the faery world, hiding from persecutors who accused her of being the daughter of a witch. But Elizabeth has her own persecutors to face. A catholic priest is hiding with her family – an act of treason in 1586 – and the net is closing in. As they become friends, Elizabeth and Isabella must find a way to save the family from being torn apart …
It’s 1586. 12-year-old Elizabeth Dyer is a Catholic in a time when Queen Elizabeth has decreed that Catholics are heretics. She and her family are viewed with suspicion by the other town folk and her father’s gone to Italy to try to save his business. Elizabeth secretly tends a local Catholic shrine and it’s there that she meets Isabella, a strange girl with green tinged skin from the year 1240. Isabella was the daughter of a mid-wife accused of witchcraft and for the last 300 years she’s been hiding in the faery world with her younger brother.
The two girls form an unusual friendship but Elizabeth’s world is shaken with the arrival of a young nobleman called Kit Merrivale who’s charged with finding a Catholic priest believed to be hiding in the town. That priest is hiding in Elizabeth’s house and as Merrivale draws closer, it’s up to the girls to find a way to save Elizabeth’s family …
Sarah Singleton’s middle grade historical fantasy novel is a solid tale of persecution with a time travelling twist. There are some good elements in the book – particularly the sections in the faery world, which are creepy and vivid – and I enjoyed the portrayal of Elizabeth’s patron, Lady Catherine, a former court artist now consigned to her great house who falls for the gossip and flattery of the odious Merrivale. However neither Elizabeth or Isabella really came alive for me and while it’s interesting to read a book that looks at religious persecution, there’s no recognition by Elizabeth’s family of the persecution Queen Mary wrecked on Protestants when they lament their troubles, which I found a little troubling (although historically accurate). Ultimately, it’s an okay read rather than a great one but I would check out Singleton’s other work.
I didn’t really believe in Elizabeth and Isabella’s friendship because it occurs far too quickly on the page without any real build up. I actually found Elizabeth’s relationship with Lady Catherine more interesting as Catherine tries to protect her but ultimately underestimates Merrivale’s agenda. The best sections are those set in the faery world, which have an eerie quality as the faeries play tricks on both girls for their own entertainment and a scene where Elizabeth loses all hope is particularly disturbing.
Although this book didn’t do it for me, there was enough here to ensure that I would read Singleton’s other work.
The Verdict:
Sarah Singleton’s middle grade historical fantasy novel is a solid tale of persecution with a time travelling twist. There are some good elements in the book – particularly the sections in the faery world, which are creepy and vivid – and I enjoyed the portrayal of Elizabeth’s patron, Lady Catherine, a former court artist now consigned to her great house who falls for the gossip and flattery of the odious Merrivale. However neither Elizabeth or Isabella really came alive for me and while it’s interesting to read a book that looks at religious persecution, there’s no recognition by Elizabeth’s family of the persecution Queen Mary wrecked on Protestants when they lament their troubles, which I found a little troubling (although historically accurate). Ultimately, it’s an okay read rather than a great one but I would check out Singleton’s other work.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
