Synopsis
Inexplicably drawn to a bridge, unhappy Phoebe finds herself mysteriously forced over the railing. Emerging from the water, she holds a chunk of clear glass that might have magical powers.
Like Britomart from Spenser's "Faerie Queene," thirteen-year-old Phoebe is drawn into a fantastic world where she is pitted against an enchanter who has trapped the self-images of people close to her in glass.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1996-05-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 198 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 5.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 12.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
Things have gotten so bad that Phoebe skips school to escape her problems. Wandering around, Pheobe is drawn to the bridge. When a frightening force sends her over the railing, she emerges from the icy water gripping a chunk of clear glass. Why do things look so strange through this shard? Could it be magic?
Industry Reviews
Gr 5-7 This well-intentioned effort to meld epic adventure with everyday issues is more likely to annoy than enchant. Whitcher plunges directly into her story without effectively establishing the setting or introducing her characters, making it difficult for readers to follow the plot or care about its outcome. The fault is not a lack of inventiveness, but rather an attempt to accomplish too much. The end result is an odd and unsuccessful amalgam of fantasy quest and realistic fiction. Phoebe is unpopular at school, anxious about her father's health, and concerned about her musical abilities. Her desire for a magical solution to her problems is ostensibly fulfilled when she finds a fragment of glass that changes her perspective and catapults her into a series of fractured fairy-tale adventures. Accompanied by a much-maligned neighbor, Tamas, Phoebe battles her own preconceptions and faces up to an evil enchanter. Success comes only after confrontations with mysterious knights, faithless former friends, and freakish fauns, among others. Although Phoebe and Tamas triumph, the book's ending is oddly ambivalent for both wonder how much of their adventure truly happened. Tamas's bold assertion that their experiences have made them "poets" people who create reality by imagining seems ironic given the unconvincing narrative that precedes it. Pass on this kaleidoscopic story, but keep an eye open for Whitcher's next work in hopes that it will be a clearer look from her unusual viewpoint. Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Lopate
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