The Various is a tale about "little people": call them fairies, goblins, or whatever you like. There are several tribes living together in a small forest, calling themselves The Various. Meanwhile, Midge, a twelve-year-old from London, is sent to stay with her Uncle Brian for a couple of weeks on his ramshackle farm. It's a little of a city mouse/country mouse story, except in this case the city mouse discovers The Various and gets drawn into some exciting adventures (along with her cousins George and Kate).
The story is a fun read, and although it's mostly focused on Midge, we do get bits of the other characters' perspectives as well. When we're in the land of The Various, the language changes a little: they speak something a little like pidgin Middle English, and the politics of the little people are both charming and, well, realistic. It's no Harry Potter, but it's still a sizeable book (over 400 pages). It's the first part of a trilogy, so it ends with a hint of things to come, but Augarde manages to wrap up most of the loose ends of this particular story line by the end of the book.
I'm looking forward to part two, Celandine, which isn't due out until August.
Fed to jonathan's brain | May 24, 2006
| Comments (0)
