Read for the 2011 YA Reading Challenge.
This book is a companion to Merlin’s Harp, which portrays the Fae as a primal people living alongside the human inhabitants of King Arthur’s Kingdom.
In Arthurian legend, Sir Percival is raised far from court by his mother, because his father and older brothers have all died in service to the king. She thinks by never telling him of knights, he will never go to court. But, several knights find their way to their hiding place, and Percival goes off to Camelot, where he becomes one of the finest Knights of the Round Table. He dies after seeing the Holy Grail.
This book has Percival’s mother escaping to the Fae Forest, where Percival is raised among the Fae ruled by the Lady of the Lake. His best friend is Lili, and when he leaves to become a knight, she goes with him, determined to find a Human Heart for herself, as that seems to be where humans gain their power.
From here, the story follows the path of the legends, with a modern-style twist to the ending. It’s a sweet little story, and fits well in the world of Merlin’s Harp.