Bound To Stay Bound

View MARC Record
 Deception's pawn
 Author: Friesner, Esther M.

 Publisher:  Random House (2015)

 Classification: Fiction
 Physical Description: 321 p.,  21 cm.

 BTSB No: 358336 ISBN: 9780449818671
 Ages: 12-16 Grades: 7-11

 Subjects:
 Medb (Legendary character) -- Fiction
 Courts and courtiers -- Fiction
 Princesses -- Fiction
 Kings and rulers -- Fiction
 Gender role -- Fiction
 Ireland -- History -- To 1172 -- Fiction

Price: $6.50

Summary:
Maeve begins her royal fosterage but her new companions are full of secrets and jealousy, her only friends are an elderly lady-in-waiting and Kian, the prince who rescued her kestrel, Ea, and her future promises only household management and childbearing until someone from her past brings a message about her true love.

Accelerated Reader Information:
   Interest Level: MG
   Reading Level: 5.60
   Points: 14.0   Quiz: 174107

Reviews:
   Kirkus Reviews (01/01/15)
   School Library Journal (02/01/15)

Full Text Reviews:

School Library Journal - 02/01/2015 Gr 6–10—In this sequel to Deception's Princess (Random, 2014), Maeve, daughter of King Eochu of Connacht, is grasping for independence from her father's reign while navigating a new court in a nearby highborn family's home. She finds herself among a group other foster girls her age who can be friendly and prankish. Caught between the vying love interest of her host family's son, and her father's greatest rival, Maeve pines for her lost love Odran. When a former foster returns to the court, the pranks turn vindictive and directed solely against Maeve, forcing her to wrestle free from building situations, and take destiny in her own hands. Friesner brings this rarely showcased first-century A.D. Irish setting alive with common traditions and roles of the Iron Age, but this tenderhearted Maeve is more a character of imagination than the one of Celtic folklore. The story's themes center on independence and personal agency. Moving at a faster pace than its prequel, most of the dramatic tension comes from Maeve's interactions with the other fosterling girls than through romance and adventure, leaving this book best suited for readers content to meander in a time and place, rather than those who prefer a high-action plot. Friesner's storytelling and context do not require having read the first in the series, but unresolved loose ends from the previous volume are tied up here. Romance scenes are tame, and though sex is alluded to having happened, it is offstage. VERDICT Purchase where the first book is popular.—Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

View MARC Record
Loading...