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Title: The Perilous Gard
Author: Elizabeth Marie Pope
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: Exiled from Princess Elizabeth's court, Kate is imprisoned in a castle full of secrets. Curious, she stumbles into the greatest secret of all--and finds herself the captive of the people Under the Hill.
Thoughts: I've been on a bit of a re-reading kick lately. This particular book I picked up at a book fair in elementary school, loved beyond reason, and have held onto ever since. I'll admit I might not be particularly objective about it. But since it won a Newbury, I don't think my love is particularly unjustified.
Kate was so very much my own image of myself at that point--smart and curious and reasonably pretty, but also incredibly clumsy and bad at dressing or presenting herself. She's not particularly good at being ladylike and more inclined to be sensible instead of fashionable, and is undervalued as a result. Her curiosity and stubbornness get her into trouble, but she then continues to use them and gets herself back out because of them. She needs no rescuing, and does most of the rescuing herself.
This has the somewhat After School Special moral of "be yourself", but shows instead of tells. There's no preachiness, even the villains are understandable and sympathetically complex (while still very much needing to be stopped), and even Kate's Christianity is treated in a nuanced, period-appropriate way. The love interest is a bit pushy by modern standards, but downright enlightened for the times.
I can't help but feel that if this had been written today instead of the 70s, it would have been a hundred pages longer with the same plot. It doesn't need it--I was impressed, in retrospect, by how much Pope manages to establish with a few short, key scenes.
My one complaint is that the author twice takes the shortcut of having Kate delirious/unconscious as a way of skipping over exposition she doesn't feel like writing. Fortunately, it's never a way of removing her agency--she only faints well after the core of the situation is resolved. But it gives the author a way to reshuffle all the pieces of the chessboard so there's a new situation when she wakes up. It's a bit of a cheat. But since it doesn't prevent Kate from being Awesome, I'm willing to forgive.
Author: Elizabeth Marie Pope
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Thingummies: 5
Synopsis: Exiled from Princess Elizabeth's court, Kate is imprisoned in a castle full of secrets. Curious, she stumbles into the greatest secret of all--and finds herself the captive of the people Under the Hill.
Thoughts: I've been on a bit of a re-reading kick lately. This particular book I picked up at a book fair in elementary school, loved beyond reason, and have held onto ever since. I'll admit I might not be particularly objective about it. But since it won a Newbury, I don't think my love is particularly unjustified.
Kate was so very much my own image of myself at that point--smart and curious and reasonably pretty, but also incredibly clumsy and bad at dressing or presenting herself. She's not particularly good at being ladylike and more inclined to be sensible instead of fashionable, and is undervalued as a result. Her curiosity and stubbornness get her into trouble, but she then continues to use them and gets herself back out because of them. She needs no rescuing, and does most of the rescuing herself.
This has the somewhat After School Special moral of "be yourself", but shows instead of tells. There's no preachiness, even the villains are understandable and sympathetically complex (while still very much needing to be stopped), and even Kate's Christianity is treated in a nuanced, period-appropriate way. The love interest is a bit pushy by modern standards, but downright enlightened for the times.
I can't help but feel that if this had been written today instead of the 70s, it would have been a hundred pages longer with the same plot. It doesn't need it--I was impressed, in retrospect, by how much Pope manages to establish with a few short, key scenes.
My one complaint is that the author twice takes the shortcut of having Kate delirious/unconscious as a way of skipping over exposition she doesn't feel like writing. Fortunately, it's never a way of removing her agency--she only faints well after the core of the situation is resolved. But it gives the author a way to reshuffle all the pieces of the chessboard so there's a new situation when she wakes up. It's a bit of a cheat. But since it doesn't prevent Kate from being Awesome, I'm willing to forgive.
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Date: 2012-05-14 01:18 am (UTC)From: