A SPELL IS CAST

by Eleanor Cameron ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 1964

The title is distinctly appropriate. Miss Cameron manages to conjure up an intriguing blend of myth, mystery and imagination. The lush coast of southern California takes on new shades as seen through the eyes of young Cory who has come to spend the summer with her mysterious ""relatives."" The visit proves to be an end to her heretofore transient existence. Cory, after learning that she has never been truly adopted by her flighty guardian Stephanie and longing for the security discovered in her summer ""castle"" Ternhelm, slowly ferrets out the meaning of her one tie with the past, her amulet, a unicorn. She finds that an exact unicorn is the symbol of Tarnhelm and with agile imagination delves into the reasons behind her Uncle's moodiness, her grandmother's erratic aloofness, the truth behind a feverish dream, a vaguely remembered song, the odd quality of the figures on the chess set her uncle had once carved, the strange kinship felt with a solitary neighbor and the relationship between her uncle and this woman. Imagination leads to logical rewards as Cory finds a permanent home. The author captures that special quality of youth where fact and fantasy blend and ""a spell is cast.

Pub Date: Sept. 8, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1964

Categories: FICTION