Stray

Gr 7 Up—Sixteen-year-old princess-in-training Aislynn attends classes to hone vital skills like sewing and flirting—but her most important endeavor at the academy is to learn how to contain her "curse," magical abilities that must be squashed in order to be deemed "safe" and marry a rich male heir. Aislynn is not doing a great job in keeping her powers under wraps and gets reassigned to fairy godmother classes. A demotion of this magnitude is a fate almost as horrible as any young royal could imagine—but the worst of all would be to "stray" from the right path and leave society. She studies how to use her magic in a controlled way and care for her charge. Sweet young Linnea has lost her parents and is associated with a bad family (her maternal aunt is an infamous stray known as the Wicked Queen). Aislynn finds the young princess to be fully under the thumb of her advisor, Madame Moira. Meanwhile, Aislynn makes some new friends in carriage driver Ford, kitchen maid Brigid, and charming gardener Thackery. She learns of an underground ring of servants who help endangered "orphans" (those believed to have been kidnapped by the Wicked Queen) escape to safety. The heroine soon discovers that the world she believed in is built upon lies and manipulations designed to keep those in power at the top. This fun tale will appeal to reluctant female readers. Sussman explores some unique themes, including a LGBTQ relationship, and even a yummy recipe in this fantasy with supernatural and romantic elements.—Tara Kehoe, New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center, Trenton