The Treachery of Beautiful Things

Gr 7 Up–As a child Jenny saw her older brother Tom swallowed up by trees that came to life. At 17, she has struggled for years with what she saw. No one believed her story, her parents have withdrawn into sorrow for their missing son, and she is ostracized by her peers. When preparing to leave for university, Jenny decides to visit the spot of Tom’s snatching, and while there she hears music, the kind only her prodigy of a brother could make, and she runs into the wood searching for him–despite her terror. The small stand of suburban trees becomes a gigantic forest as she runs, and Jenny finds herself trapped in Faerie. Full of gorgeous beauty, the realm also holds danger, treachery, and intrigue. Estranged King Oberon and Queen Titania both want Jenny for their own ends, and the creatures she meets on her quest to rescue Tom are not what they seem, especially the Guardian of the Edge, Jack, to whom Jenny is irresistibly drawn. He, too, finds her irresistible and wants to protect her, but he is already torn between two powerful feuding Courts. Also, Jenny unknowingly brings her own kind of power into Faerie–enough perhaps to change the balance of power and free not only her much-changed brother, but even to break the enchantments binding Jack. Vivid imagery brings the lush, dangerous world alive, and the story moves at a brisk pace. The immediate connection forged between Jenny and Jack will melt the hearts of romantic readers and have them rooting for the pair to overcome the impossible odds they face.-Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA