by Diane Stanley
HarperCollins Publishers
2011
320 pages
Available June 21, 2011
In the deft hands of Diane Stanley, the fast-paced tale of Molly, a humble scullery maid who has visions, dark visions, of death for the royal family, and her attemps to warn the King and save the kingdom of Wisteria unfolds. Rich with adventure, masterfully told, The Silver Bowl will resonate with readers grades 5-8.
Molly is a spunky, happy-go-lucky girl who grew up playing hard amongst the local boys, but is shipped off at age seven to go into servitude at the Castle Dethemere. She proves herself at her job in the kitchen but is of particular use in polishing the grand family's beloved silver treasures including a massive silver loving cup with beautiful silver inlays and decorations. When polishing the bowl, Molly sees it transform before her eyes to show the death of the King and the prince.
Molly warns her friend Tobias who works in the stables, and together they keep an eye out for trouble. When other-worldly wolves show up for a royal ceremonial dinner with more than dinner on their minds, the young pair rush to save Prince Alaric.
With Molly's quick thinking and help from friends along the way, Molly and Tobias hide the prince and figure out a way for him to claim his rightful throne. Prince Alaric starts out a foppish, spoiled twit but turns into an incredibly huge-hearted ruler who takes care of those who risked their lives for him. Molly is richly rewarded not only in life but also in love.
Readers will cheer the outcome. This was a lovely, uplifting read--one to be treasured forever. I loved this book and would recommend it to any young reader who likes adventure, fantasy, or just a plain all-out great page-turner.
Highly, highly recommended for middle school and elementary collections. Some high school readers who like adventure and fantasy will also find this an entertaining read.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. I met Diane Stanley in line at the Texas Library Convention where we talked about QR Codes on books and how teens could scan them with their I-phones; little did I know, she had a great book for me to read. She contacted me via email and sent me a copy of the arc of her book. I LOVE it! Sometimes, it's the people you bump into--that is the greatest part of life! I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
No comments:
Post a Comment