Celandine (review)

Although this is the second book in an expected trilogy, this British import is actually the prequel to the first volume: long before Midge, the human protagonist of The Various (BCCB 5/04), is even born, Celandine is having adventures with the four tribes of little people that secretly live on the borders of human life. Seeking refuge from a miserable boarding school and trying to outrun her grief for a brother who was recently killed in World War I, Celandine is determined to find the group of otherworldly creatures she glimpsed in her family's woods years before. Although she does find and join them, her tribe, the Tinklers, is now being viciously attacked by power seekers who will stop at nothing to acquire a mystical, powerful talisman that the Tinklers protect. While a good deal of the book is focused on Celandine's domestic and school disputes, these real-world foci shape Celandine into the audacious thirteen-year-old that she is, and since she is an admirable and engaging heroine regardless of her surroundings, this careful attention to both halves of her life is warranted. However, Augarde's writerly enthusiasm and gift for evocative description are best conveyed through the perilous adventures of the Various and the gripping details of their struggle for survival in a world that is relentlessly dangerous for tiny creatures. Fans of the previous volume and fantasy readers searching for a compelling and lavishly detailed book will enjoy this rich offering; established and new fans alike will anxiously anticipate the wrap-up to the trilogy.