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WATER SHAPER by Laura Williams McCaffrey

WATER SHAPER

by Laura Williams McCaffrey

Pub Date: April 17th, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-61489-3
Publisher: Clarion Books

A scorned princess yearns to find her place in the world in this intriguing adventure-fantasy. Margot grew up in the midlands, a landlocked region, and, like her mother who died when she was three, has a mysterious affinity with water and the sea. She struggles to know herself, to understand what it means to “have water in her blood” and senses that her mother’s constantly transforming The Book of the Sea holds an important key. McCaffrey painstakingly constructs a complicated, imaginative universe, made up of vastly different kingdoms infused with good, bad and questionable magic that flows through holy men, demon spirits, storytellers, minstrels and herbalists. Veering off into almost a purely romantic realm, until Margot is abruptly brought up short by a shocking betrayal, this suspenseful tale sparked by Celtic folklore (and selkie lore) tackles questions of identity, women’s basic rights and even censorship verses safety. Harrowing, disillusioning experiences lead Margot to make discoveries about her ancestral past, special power and future choices. Though perhaps lacking the depth and resonance of Franny Billingsley’s The Folk Keeper (1999), the evocative settings, intricate plot and resourceful heroine make for an engrossing read. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 10-14)