Read for the 2011 YA Reading Challenge.
One day, a parcel containing a pair of gorgeous silver shoes is left outside Coriander’s home. She knows that they’re for her, but her mother is adamant that she cannot wear them. Still, the shoes call her name, and when Coriander gives in to that call, it starts a chain of events that will test her severely, but ultimately give her a better understanding of her fantastic heritage.
The story is set in the time of the Commonwealth in England, in the 17th century. Coriander’s father became wealthy because of his commissions from the king, and when Cromwell’s forces take over, he is suddenly in danger from that relationship. When Coriander’s mother suddenly dies, he is persuaded to marry a Puritan woman, to keep the eyes of Cromwell’s men from him. What he cannot know is that this woman is in league with darker powers. Not much later, he is forced to flee England, leaving Coriander at the mercy of her stepmother. When one day she is locked in a trunk, an unexpected journey opens before her.
It is because Coriander’s mother was a fairy, and the silver shoes were commissioned by her father, the fairy king. A darkness has come over the fairy kingdom, one that only Coriander can save them from.
This is a lovely little tale, with great historical detail, and a lovely fairy story beside it. I read it in two days, only putting it down in the middle of the book because of this little thing called Thanksgiving dinner. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.