13 Treasures (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: 13 Treasures April Spisak Harrison, Michelle. 13 Treasures. Little, 2010. 355p. ISBN 978-0-316-04148-5 $15.99 R Gr. 5-7. Tanya doesn't mean to drive her mother crazy, but when you are the only one who sees taunting fairies, it's hard on those around you. The British thirteen-year-old is shipped off to live on her grandmother's secluded estate, and there she discovers that the parallel world of fairies, magical creatures, and ghosts is much larger, and even more ominous, than she suspected. Fortunately, Tanya has a dog, a friend (the son of an employee at the house), and a couple of magical tools that may get her out of trouble. Which is good, as she finds plenty of trouble whe a decades-old scandal involving her family and a new horror involving changeling babies demand her attention and her ability to see and interact with both worlds. Fantasy fans will find the dizzying array of otherworldly creatures, each kind equipped with its own social hierarchies and mores, quite intriguing. Tanya, defiant and wise enough to spot when blustering deserves compassion instead of defensiveness, is an amiable guide through it all, and the rambling estate, cloaked in years of pain and secrets, is so intricately described that it almost becomes a protagonist in itself. Younger readers initially daunted by the page count will be easily reassured by the swift pace, compelling characters (both human and otherwise), and web of carefully developed and cleanly resolved plots. [End Page 22] Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois