This was a nice story. ( )

Good quick read touching on serious topics ie. politics, greed, violence and love.

The beginning of this book is its strength, it kind of looses its power forward the end. Despite that I would recommend it and read more by the author. ( )

Oh, I am so glad I finally read this book. A fairy tale that is a delight, a comfort read that is also dark and grim. This is a fantasy book that went against the fantasy canon before there was one. Now I just have to get my hands on all the other books Naomi Mitchison had written. ( )

I don't normally pay much attention to blurbs, but a blurb from Ursula K. Le Guin, on top of the publication being from an imprint of Small Beer Press, made this little book irresistible even when the cover copy left me less than sure it would be for me. In the end, though, I'm so glad I stumbled upon it.

This short fairy-tale-esque novel sprawls over so many different territories, and with such a unique coming-of-age story. I was enchanted from the very beginning, and am somewhat shocked I hadn't heard of the author before now. What began as a sweetly amusing fairy tale turned into something deeper and more meaningful as the world and the character progressed, and left me in a bit of wonder.

I'd absolutely recommend it. ( )