Juniper [Mass Market Paperback]

Monica Furlong (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Though Juniper enjoys the easy life of a medieval princess, she chooses to learn about herbs, healing, and the magic within nature from her strange and difficult godmother. As her training comes to an end, Juniper discovers that her power-hungry aunt is using black magic to seize the throne. Juniper must use her as-yet-untested powers to stop her—before the kingdom is destroyed!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-- A rich, deeply colored novel of a young girl's coming of age. Ninnoc is the indulged only child of King Mark of Cornwall as Christianity is beginning to overcome the ancient Celtic religion of the Mother Goddess. She has abilities as a healer and the ambition to rule her father's small kingdom. She is sent to her unusual and unappealing godmother, who teaches her to become a doran , a sort of wise woman or white witch. Euny is no fairy godmother--her lessons are hard, slow, and obscure. Ninnoc returns home to find her father's kingdom under her evil aunt Meroot's enchantment. She then realizes that she must use her new powers to save both herself and her cousin Gamal, the gentle musician whom Meroot is forcing to become a warrior knight. Furlong's story, the prequel to Wise Child (Knopf, 1987), is neatly constructed, with several interesting parallels embellishing the story line. Background details are vivid and smoothly incorporated. The feminist perspective is clear but not obtrusive; characters of both sexes are well drawn and balanced as to appeal and interest. The pace is sure and steady with light touches of humor. The action is quite believable given the beliefs of the time, and our own growing knowledge of psychology, herbalism, and pre-Christian religions. Historical fantasy of the calibre of Bradley's Mists of Avalon (Knopf, 1982), and just as satisfying. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This prequel to Wise Child recounts the childhood and spiritual initiation of Juniper, who will in turn pass down the secret teachings of the dorans to Wise Child. Readers will again enjoy the details of herb-gathering, spell-casting and mystic rituals. An atmospheric story that will both satisfy confirmed fantasy fans and involve readers new to the genre.”—The Bulletin

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (September 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679833692
• ISBN-13: 978-0679833697
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Arthurian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for reading to your children, January 27, 2005

By 

Gary R. Bradski (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Juniper (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a guy (you know the drill - testosterone has me rooting for the robots in the terminator movies) with 3 young daughters and so story time for me can be it's own kind of hell, overpopulated with too many thoughtful ponies, joyous princesses and other terrors from the Id.

Juniper at least is a story that can engross a child while being satisfying to the adult reader. I never once had the urge to plunge my head through the sheetrock in the bedroom whereas when forced to read stories like the Pony Pals, that's all I can think about. The wise women in Juniper are are a bit too knowing and all seeing, the plot a bit formulaic but other than that, it's a story of growing up, persistence against adversity good and evil, courage and adventure and some things in between. Same holds through the rest of the trilogy: Wise Child and Colman though they're not written in order.

I suspect that these stories catch the mind of young girls more than boys and are aimed more at a female audience. I don't know if I would have read it by myself, but with mission to read to my daughters, it was an enjoyable journey. I could see adult women enjoying this for it's own sake. In any case the books of this trilogy are well above the average children's fare for girls or for boys. Definitely worth the price of admission.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An AMAZING Adventure for EVERYONE Willing to Read, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Juniper (Mass Market Paperback)

Ninnoc finds herself caught in a web of love, friendship and magic. Her life at the palace is interupted by her having to go to her god mother's house to learn to defeat her evil aunt using her own good magic against her aunt's bad. Mainly, this is a story of love, friendship and magic, all tied into a beautifully written prequil to Monica Furlong's Wise Child. I have enjoyed reading Wise Child and Juniper over and over agiain since fourth grade, this is truely a book for all ages so i'd say forget that young adult stamp there and buy this book! It is amazing!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Juniper, June 8, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Juniper (Mass Market Paperback)

What would you do if you, the princess of Cornwall were tolld to live with your disgusting, peasant of a godmother in a tiny shack on the outside of town? this is what happened to Juniper. She had always known there was something special about her since the day she picked up a stick and it wiggled about like a snake. She had a great life with her cousin, Gamal,her parents, and her friends. When she moved in with Euny everything changed. She was underfed, dirty, tired, and had to sleep on the floor. And when the year was over, she found out her wicked aunt Meroot had put a curse on her country, her unborn brother is going to rule the county in her place, and Gamal has been frozen in a trance by Meroot, too.

Monica Furlong writes with so much detail, and everything is full of so much color and can be pictured in your mind. It is almost as if you're in the book, living in Euny's house, walking the long tiring journies, and learning the ways of the Doran yourself.

If you like enchanting stories about magic and the struggles between good and evil you will like this book. I did, and I couldn't stop reading until it was over. I went on the read the sequels Wise Child and Colman, and I hope you will too and like then all as much as I do.