The Perilous Gard

The Perilous Gard Elizabeth Marie Pope
c. 1974 * p. 280 * YA Fantasy

The Perilous Gard is set in 1558 Elizabethan England. The author, Pope, studies Celtic and English traditions/legends/myths/folklore/ballads, and has weaved a delicious and myserious plot around the Celtic ballad "Tam Lin."

Kate Sutton and her sister, Alicia, are ladies in waiting to the Lady Elizabeth. The dramatic and ridiculous Alicia sends a complaint letter to the Queen Mary, and Kate is blamed for her sister's impertinence. You get the feeling that Kate is constantly being blamed for Alicia's blunders, because Kate takes it graciously and seems happy to get away from her. Kate's punishment is that she is exiled to the Perilous Gard, an antiquated Tudor castle far away owned by Sir Geoffrey Heron. Sir Geoffery is kind but must follow the Queen's orders to keep Kate almost on house arrest. She is not allowed to keep company and must stick to the castle grounds and the nearby adjoining village.

One morning Kate walks to the village. She plays with a littlle boy who has fallen next to her:

"There you're not hurt, " she said quickly. "Don't be afraid; it's only--" and suddenly realized that something was wrong. A redheaded woman drawing water at the well had straightened up and was staring at her. Everybody was staring. . . .

Kate stared back at them in bewilderment. The village was so far off the beaten road that she would not have been suprised to find the people shy of outsiders--silent, awkward, suspicious even--but she was entirely unprepared for the sort of fear and hatred that had swept over their faces when they saw her with the little boy. . . .

The next instant there was nobody left on the path except Kate herself and the priest, still standing his ground by the church porch. He was an old man, with a careworn, gentle look; but he held himself very straight, and his faded blue eyes met hers sternly, full of repudiation and horror. Then he raised his hand and made the sign of the cross on the air between them" (45).

Kate later meets the "redheaded woman" again, and learns that the village people believe the castle occupants are evil and in cahoots with the Fairy Folk: a group of magical pagan/heathens who live in the Hill by the castle and snatch little children for their human sacrifices. Kate does not pay attention to the superstitious gossip until she finds out that Sir Geoffery's daughter Cecily is missing. Geoffery thinks Cecily is dead because his brother Christopher did not watch her carefully and she fell into the Holy Well.

Christopher blames himself as well for Cecily's "death" and does not believe the tales about the Fairy Folk. But one day Kate and Christopher meet a loony minstrel who claims to have been taken by the Fairy Folk occasionally to play music for them. He shows them a tiny shoe he found while there. It is Cecily's shoe! Christopher runs off for the Holy Well planning to find and convince the Fairy Folk to let Cecily go and take him instead for the human sacrifice on All Hallow's Eve.

I loved this book. Pope does a wonderful job of producing an ancient aura to surround the legend. The book is classified as a fantasy but seems more suspenseful and mysterious than a typical fantasy. It is a perfect fantasy book for readers who do not particularly care for the genre and want something more serious.

-Completely appropriate for all readers

-Reading level: ages 14 & up (some diffiuclt vocab and style)

-Appeals to both young men and women

-Themes of self-confidence, bravery, determination & references to Christianity and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

After the First Death

After the First Death Robert Cormier

c.1979 * p. 233 * Y.A. Realistic Contemporary

After the First Death follows three teenage narrators: Ben, the General's son; Kate, the kidnapped bus driver; and Miro, one of the terrorists over the kidnapping. As part of their cause, the terrorists plan to highjack a bus full of preschool children, kill the old man who drives the bus, take it to the bridge, and make their demands. Miro, eager for his initiation as a man in the group, has been given the honor of killing the bus driver, his first personal kill. However, Miro is a little rattled when they highjack the bus and find that the driver is really a teenage girl, Kate. Now she must do everything she can to stay alive and protect the children.

Meanwhile, Ben's thoughts weave through the story as he remembers that day on the bridge. The reader never knows what exactly happens to him (until the end), but the trama he suffered is apparent as he contemplates ending his life once he confronts his father, the General, over the incident on the bridge.

This is the first of Cormier's novels that I have read. The story and tone of the plot are undoubtedly realistic and shocking. At first, I was a little disturbed at the seemingly hopeless aura of Kate's situation, but found it intriguing, personal, and suspenseful as themes of honor, bravery, innocence, fear, and war come through the wholly realistic teenage characters and their interactions with each other and with adults.

Here is a brief excerpt from the novel:

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying to keep any harshness out of her voice, needing to seem friendly and interested. By this she meant the bus, the children, the highjacking, this enire nightmare.

Miro knew her meaning. "It's what we must do," he answered in his carefully measured English, as if he were walking a verbal tightrope. "Our work, our duty."

"You mean your work is to kidnap children, hurt people, terrorize them?" The hell with trying to appear docile, let the chips fall.

"It's the war. It's all a part of the war."

"I haven't heard of any war." (118-119)

Cormier does a wonderful job of keeping the terrorist's nationality a secret. It takes away all political propoganda and lets the situation just happen. The novel is well-written and the characters are easy to relate to and grow to love. After the First Death was a breath of fresh air and tells a shocking story without unneccesary graphic violence.

-Depressing, but thought provoking

-Can appeal to both young men and women

-An easy read, but with good literary depth

-No foul language

-Some sexual inuendos and violence

-More appropriate for high school juniors and seniors

Cormier has written many other novels. Some of his that I plan on reading, and have heard many reccomendations on are:

I Am the Cheese,

The Chocolate War

Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine

c. 1997 * p.232 * Y.A. Fantasy

Ella Enchanted takes the classic tale of Cinderella and enlivens it with spunk, humor, and personality. At Ella's birth, a rather overzealous fairy named Lucinda blesses her with the gift obedience. From then on, she must do what she is commanded, whether she must do her chores, eat her entire birthday cake, or kill, Ella is powerless against the will of her "gift." When her mother suddenly dies, Ella is left to be cared for by many non-caring persons: her often-absent and greedy father, her voluptuous step-mother, and horse-faced and devious step-sisters. But Ella's tenacity keeps her fighting for her own free will as she searches for a way to relinquish Lucinda's gift.

Ella's adventurous and charming nature keeps you smiling for the entirety of the book as she challenges hungry ogres, tricks her evil-stepsisters, tracks fairies, slides down castle banisters, and falls for the dashing Prince Charmont. Levine incorporates the iconic elements of the Cinderella tale, such as glass slippers, a pumpkin coach, and the infamous ball, while breathing life into the surrounding plot and characters. It is a novel that I could read again and again, and has instantly become one of my favorites.

-Would be nicely paired with the classic tale as stepping stone to YAL
-An ideal princess book for girls
-Movie was heartbreakingly disappointing and entirely untrue to the book
-A fast and uncomplicated read

-Junior High Ages

-Levine has written many other novels that are classic princess tales with a twist:

Fairest with elements of “Sleeping Beauty”;
The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales, a four book collection that includes elements from fairytales like “Toads and Diamonds," "The Princess and the Pea," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Princess on the Glass Hill," "Puddocky," and "The Golden Goose";
The Two Princesses of Bamarre; The Wish; etc.

-I have read Fairest. Like Ella Enchanted it follows the quest of a female protagonist who must accept/discover her true identity and self-worth. In Fairest, the challenge is embracing your own beauty.