Goldeline by Jimmy Cajoleas (review)

Eleven-year-old Goldeline has lived with Gruff and his ragtag group of bandits in the forest after her mother was killed for being a witch by the Preacher, a zealot who travels through the local villages claiming to cast out evil and wicked souls. When one of the bandits' raids leaves a young boy in Goldeline's care, she makes friends with him, bonding over their shared orphan experience; unfortunately, the boy ultimately escapes and brings the Preacher and his wrath to Goldeline and Gruff, separating Goldeline from her makeshift family of outlaws. While the pace moves in fits and starts as Goldeline flees through the forest and encounters helpful and unhelpful folks in her trek to the village where Gruff promised to meet her, the looming presence of the Preacher is always there, giving the story a sense of urgency and malevolence. The fairy-tale elements of magic and spellmaking certainly lean to the fantastic, but Goldeline's character arc touches on themes grounded in reality: learning that people are often a mix of good, bad, and simply lost ("No one's ever who they wish they were") and discovering what her own version of independence will look like. Fans of Baptiste's The Jumbies or Ursu's Breadcrumbs (BCCB 10/11) will find Goldeline's journey similarly thought provoking. KQG