Customer Reviews

Tree Shepherd's Daughter (Faire Folk, Book 1)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As soon as I started reading this book I absolutely fell in love. The story is great, it is easy to read, and also highly enjoyable. I love the fantasy elements in it as well as the issues a young girl faces when she meets a father she barely even knows. I could relate to the girl very well, and it hit home as for many years I, too, did not know my father very well. She even used some of the same terms I used to describe my father in the past due to the lack of father/daughter relations; like bio-dad for example. Because of that it really made the story feel real, and you could definatly sympathize with the girl who is brought into an enviroment totally different from what she had been raised in. How fun would it be to live at a Ren Faire?! This book has definatly made me want to go to one someday.
It does become a heart warming story as she does eventually develop a better relationship with her father, and also develops friendships along the way too. Of course you cannot escape some drama, a feud between her and another Faire person, a little bit of struggle due to some other Faire Folk not taking kindly to her heritage, but she pulls though like a shining star. She also learns more about herself, her family history, and what she really is.
I eagerly await the next two books that will come, unfortunatly the only downfall I have is that the next book does not come out until Summer of '08. Really that is the only bummer I have, having to wait so long to continue this wonderful literary adventure!
I recommend this book for teens, young adults, and 'grown-ups' who want to delve into a bit of fantasy and fun. One is never too young to read a great book!

I picked up two copies this book to use in a literature lesson for my homeschooled seventh grader and I am so glad I got two copies!! My seventh grade daughter did not want to put this book down. She read it while she was eating, riding, doing chores, etc. She asked me to start reading it, too, so we could discuss it in our literature lesson today. Any book that makes my daughter so excited she wants to do literature class first is a hit with me!!! I was rather surprised to find that I really enjoyed this book as much as I did. The writing was clean and crisp and the author didn't get bogged down with the teen angst thing. She kept the pace moving at a good clip while still allowing enough time for the reader to recognize and empathize with the mood changes the main character was experiencing. The author did a great job with the fantasy elements in the story and I loved the fact she set the story in a Renaissance Fair setting. My daughter and I are anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

Fifteen-year-old Keelie Heartwood is forced to live with the father she doesn't even know when her beloved mother dies in a plane accident. Even worse than not even knowing her father is the fact that he is a woodcraftsman in a traveling Renaissance Faire. Keelie, a fashionista from L.A., is positive that this arrangement isn't going to work out and makes plans with her friend Laurie to move back home.

Sure enough, everything is just as bad--if not worse--than Keelie expects. Everyone who works at the faire is weird, her father Zeke appears to be a `lady's man,' and his cat Knot seems insane! Plus, her freakish tree allergy is acting up overtime because they are deep in the Colorado forest. All she wants to do is go back home and be with her mom and have everything back to normal!

Slowly, she decides that Zeke isn't all bad--she even slips and calls him `Dad' sometimes--and she meets some okay people. But then she learns that her tree allergy isn't really an allergy and that her slightly deformed ear isn't really a deformity...and that her mother wasn't completely honest with her. It seems that there is a lot more to herself and the world than Keelie ever knew before coming to Colorado. And why won't that pesky cat Knot leave her alone?

This is a great book that I didn't want to put down. It ties current teenage trends with fantastical elements, which is sure to grab the interest of a young female reader who might not normally read fantasy. Keelie is a very likable character whose emotions are real--especially those dealing with the loss of her mother.

The Tree Shepherd's Daughter is the first book in a planned trilogy titled The Faire Folk Trilogy. I grabbed the second book as soon as I finished this one because I wanted to continue reading about Keelie and what she'll face as she and her father travel to the Renaissance Faire in New York. I'm eager for book three to be published!

I loved this book! I saw it at Borders and was captivated by the beautiful art of the cover, but decided to check the reviews here prior to buying it. And I wasn't dissapointed. The book gets your attention from the very beginning. I could barely stop reading! It takes place in a Renaissance Fair, and since I've never been to or seen one the details were very helpful and interesting. The main character is a girl from California, which I guess explains the use of "like" in almost everything she says (an annoying habit.) In short this is a magical book, a must for the new (like myself) faery fans or the old. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that the second book in the trilogy comes out next summer, as in 2008. =/

I really enjoyed this book. Gillian Summers captured the magic of Ren-Faire and wove it into a wonderful tale. I cannot wait for the next novel in the series.

I picked this book up this weekend after meeting the author at a writing panel. The story concerns 15 year old Keelie Heartwood, a modern materialistic California teen who doesn't want anything to do with the Renaissance Faire world her father lives in. Fate conspires against her(or perhaps not) and after her mother is taken from her she must go live with her father at the Renn Faire. Will she be able to accept her absentee father and embrace the new and increasingly wondrous world he lives in?

High marks are to be given for the characterization, which I feel is the real strength of the book. I want to know more about nearly every character. The recurring luggage gag started to become stale toward the end, but I see why it was necessary to keep plot elements in check.

I hope to read more from Gillian Summers in the future! A wonderful read at a very reasonable price.

The Tree Shepherds Daughter

Do you like fairies, teen books, and fantasy books? Well, then the Tree Shepherds Daughter is the book for you. I like this book because it is not an ordinary teen book for ages 12- 20. I felt like I was standing there with Keelie through every moment at her dads. As I read on I kept getting pulled in to the story.
As Keelie sets off to live with her dad at a Renaissance Fair, she sees strange things. Such as: a small short gnome with a red cap, people with a pointy ear like hers, tiny little stick people, and can somehow communicate with trees. Strange huh? Keelie is your normal 15 year old, preppy girl from California or that's what she thought. Keelie finds out the truth about her mom and dad's relationship and that nothing was ever her dad's fault! Her mom had been telling lies to her, her entire life. Then, when she tries to plan an escape, she starts to notice everything.
Around the fair strange things start to happen: weird smelling mushrooms and green sky's with tornadoes. With everything starting to happen, Keelie couldn't possibly leave everyone at the fair to die. As she gets closer to her dad, she realizes she couldn't leave him, because he needs her.
This book is filled with amazing surprises and details. I would compare this book to my life because, I live with a single parent and I'm an only child. I know how it is to be lonely and not have another parent around. As a contrast I love fairies and renaissance festivals and Keelie hates them (Not until the end). Go now and get this book because it could change your life reading the lessons Keelie learned. As Keelie would say, "You never know what awaits you in the future".

After the death of her mother, 15 year old Keelie Heartwood goes to live with her dad, Zeke, at a Renaissance Faire in Colorado.

I understand author Gillian Summers (I thought I had read somewhere that Gillian Summers was a pseudonym for two women, but I can no longer find that source) enjoys renaissance faires and wanted to set a story in one. The concept has loads of possibilities and I was interested to see what she would do with it.

The answer is, not much. And what she does, she does badly. The interesting characters that should have populated this setting were replaced by one-dimensional stereotypes; the nasty girl, the beer guzzlers, the dreamy boy. Dreamy - the romantic interest - was unbelievably flat, truly being one of the most awful romantics leads I've ever come across. I could have lived with him, though, if doing so would have kept me from having to read one of the early scenes where Keelie goes to a party and lets some guy she's never seen before -and who is twice her age - feel her up in public. To top that off, she has romanticy feelings about this guy when Dreamy is off hanging out with Nasty Girl for awhile. Ugh!

The writing is immature, verging on bad fanfiction-ish. (This is not a slam on fanfic, as I've read some GREAT fic over the years. But, let's face it, bad fanfic can be really, reeeaaally bad.) The story was awkward, the flow choppy. Keelie's back and forth with Dreamy and Feely go hand in hand with her other feelings and opinions, many, many of which were inconsistent from one moment to the next - sometimes changing within the same thought stream. While I sympathized with her over the loss of her mother and wanted to cut her some slack, her often nasty and judgmental thoughts regarding almost everyone she came in contact with made it very difficult to warm up to her or care about her. I found her annoying as well, as she appeared to be working overtime to earn her Too Stupid To Live badge. How many times is she going to wander off after being told not to, particularly when previous wanderings have endangered her? Apparently, lots of times - the author's home page informs visitors that there will be three more books in this series for a total of six. I hope by the time they're all finished the author will have made up her mind if it's Keelie right ear that's slightly pointed, or her left.

One last comment/question: How does the fallen Aspen Queen fit in with the fact that aspens grow in clonal colonies (meaning dozens, hundreds - perhaps thousands - of trunks actually comprise one massive tree)? Since these were tree elves, I found it strange that this wasn't mentioned at the Aspen Queen's funeral.

Obviously, I didn't like the book, but I found the cover art on this volume and the next two in the series really appealing. I congratulate the artist and designer.

[...]As a teacher with a love for reading, I have often encouraged students to explore different genres when I myself usually stick to my regimen of chick lit. When I do read books from my classroom library they often match the same genres that I thrived on when I was the age of my students. I absolutly loved the book!

This book, the first in the Faire Folk Trilogy, by Gillian Summers hooked me by having Keelie Heartwood as the main character. She is a Californian teen much like any other teenager in the YA books that I usually lean toward. However, unlike the average teenager, Keelie is shocked to find out that she is half-elf, half-human after her mother dies and she moves in with her father.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects to fantasy is that anything is possible. Because Keelie also has a human side there is a good balance between reality and fantasy. One minute she is dealing with an everyday teenage theme such as thinking about her current crush, while the next moment she is using her magical powers through her connection with trees. It was a perfect blend that always kept me flipping the pages to see just what would happen next.

For those of you who love the forest and are tree huggers like me, this book is for you! Its a comming of age for Keelie and very enchanted book. You may look at your cat differently along with the trees.
I must read.