The Castle Behind Thorns - Hardcover

Haskell, Merrie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062008196 ISBN 13: 9780062008190

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2014

Synopsis

Amazon Editors recommend this book for readers who want books with more complexity and length (with content suitable for a pre-teen audience).

This magical adventure set in an enchanted castle surrounded by thorns tells a tale of the power of memory and story, forgiveness and strength, and the true gifts of craft and imagination. By the acclaimed author of The Princess Curse and Handbook for Dragon Slayers, this original fantasy is perfect for fans of Gail Carson Levine, Karen Cushman, and Shannon Hale.

When blacksmith apprentice Sand wakes up in a ruined castle, he has no idea how he got there, but the thorny brambles that surround the walls prevent him from leaving. As he begins to fix up the castle in order to survive, everything he touches somehow works better than it should. Then, as he continues to explore, Sand discovers the castle’s secrets, including its long lost heir, Perrotte. Together they must fully repair the broken castle if they ever want to leave.

About this title

About the Author

Merrie Haskell was born in Michigan and grew up in North Carolina. She wrote her first story at the age of seven, and she walked dogs after school in order to buy her first typewriter.

Merrie returned north to attend the Residential College of the University of Michigan, where she earned a BA in biological anthropology. Her fiction has appeared in Nature, Asimov's Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Unplugged: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 2008 Download. She now lives in Saline, Michigan, with her husband and stepdaughter. Merrie works in a library with over seven million books, and she finds this to be just about the right number. She is also the author of The Princess Curse and Handbook for Dragon Slayers.

From the Back Cover

Stories don't know everything.

When Sand wakes up alone in a long-abandoned castle, he has no idea how he got there. The stories all said the place was ruined by an earthquake, and Sand did not expect to find everything inside torn in half or smashed to bits. Nothing lives here and nothing grows, except the vicious, thorny bramble that holds Sand prisoner. Why wasn't this in the stories?

To survive, Sand does what he knows best—he fires up the castle's forge to mend what he needs. But the things he fixes work somehow better than they ought to. Is there magic in the mending? Or have the saints who once guarded this place returned?

When Sand finds the castle's lost heir, Perrotte, they begin to untwine the dark secrets that caused the destruction. Putting together the pieces—of stone and iron, and of a broken life—is harder than Sand ever imagined, but it's the only way to regain their freedom.

With gorgeous language and breathtaking magic, Merrie Haskell's The Castle Behind Thorns tells of the power of memory, story, forgiveness, and the true gifts of craft and imagination.

Reviews

Gr 4–8—Sand awakens inside a large fireplace, in a room where "every single thing" is broken and quickly realizes that he is in the Sundered Castle, a landmark that he has seen his whole life. Everyone in Sand's village knows that the castle, which is surrounded by an impenetrable thorn barrier, was damaged in an earthquake and isn't safe. As Sand begins to explore the ruins, he discovers that every object in the castle has been broken, and he begins to use his skills as an apprentice blacksmith to fix what he can. The protagonist is soon joined by Merlin the Falcon and Perrotte, the lost heir to the castle, who seems to have returned from death. Sand and Perrotte work together to repair the damage and gather the food and supplies they need to survive. They soon discover that their improvements seem to make the thorns that surround the castle disappear. Perrotte and Sand also come to understand their own and their families' pasts as they work toward forgiveness, facing their inner and outer conflicts. The developing relationship between the two main characters is portrayed realistically; it's often as prickly as the thorns that surround them. They both come of age as they accept themselves and those around them. Fans of Gail Carson Levine's and Shannon Hale's fairy tale adaptations will enjoy the adventure and mystery here.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI

Sand, a 13-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a blacksmith, finds himself trapped in a magical castle with no means of escape. Destroyed in an earthquake 20 years earlier and surrounded by an impenetrable forest of deadly thorns, the Sundered Castle has always been the stuff of legend. As Sand repairs the damage around him piece by piece, the castle slowly returns to life, and when long-dead royal daughter Perrotte appears in the courtyard, Sand can no longer deny that there is powerful magic behind the castle’s stories. Haskell has created a rich fantasy set in medieval Brittany that reads almost like a parable. Sand and Perrotte, each harboring deep secrets that explain their imprisonment, forge a tentative alliance that blossoms into true friendship as they work toward escape. Themes of self-reliance, forgiveness, and personal integrity figure prominently but are developed naturally through the intricate plot and personal growth of the characters. The straightforward narration belies the introspective core of this appealing story. Grades 4-6. --Summer Hayes

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062008196
• ISBN 13: 9780062008190
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336