Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now a writer, Ms. Legrand can often be found typing with purpose at her keyboard, losing herself in the stacks at her local library, or embarking upon spontaneous adventures to lands unknown. Her first novel is THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, a New York Public Library Best Book for Children in 2012. Her second novel, THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, a ghost story for middle grade readers, is available now. Her third novel, WINTERSPELL, will follow on September 30, 2014, with its prequel e-novella, SUMMERFALL, releasing August 26, 2014. She is one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade fiction due out May 27, 2014 from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins. Claire lives in New Jersey with a dragon and two cats. Visit her at claire-legrand.com and at enterthecabinet.com.
Winterspell by Claire Legrand
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Claire Legrand’s Winterspell takes the bones of the Nutcracker and delivers a story that explores the world of faeries and includes a bit of steampunk on the side. I thought Legrand did a great job of creating this world where Clara struggles to figure out who she is and where she comes from. I’m not sure my review will do this story justice as there is quite a bit going on in this story but if anything; I hope you take away the fact that this book had my attention from page one and kept me constantly wondering what was going to happen next.
Clara is the Mayor’s daughter and although she appears meek and proper, ever since her mother was murdered she has been training in self-defense with her “Godfather”, Drosselmeyer. Clara is an interesting character and I have to admit, I didn’t like her all the time. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I think it made her appear more realistic. All the while Clara attempting to learn more about her mother’s death, she is learning more about her father’s dealings with Concordia, a group of city officials who are not super happy with him right now. She is determined to do what she can to protect her family, especially her younger sister – little does she know what lengths she will need to go to.
On Christmas Eve, the night of the Mayor’s annual party, things change for Clara. Her Godfather reveals things about her and her mother, her father is kidnapped to another world, and she finds out the statue that was in her Godfather’s shop wasn’t just a statue. Turns out he is the prince of Cane…or was before he was forced to flee during the coup. Now he carries a curse that makes him part metal and he is the only person Clara knows and can rely on while she is in Cane searching for her father.
As the story progresses, Clara comes to find out a lot more about who she really is and what that means. I definitely saw a change in Clara as she comes to realize who she really is and while she struggles at times with it, she definitely grows up. She also finds out more about Cane and the prince she is traveling with. She is put into some interesting situations while in Faery Land and as she learns more about herself and her mother, she comes to realize that she will play a fairly large role in determining the future of Cane and its people. And while all of this is true, her main goal is to find her father and get back to New York so that she can protect her sister from the people of Concordia.
I enjoyed how Legrand built out the secondary characters in this story as well and since Clara essentially inhabits two worlds, we are introduced to quite a few. In Cane, Nicholas is a displaced prince who while rallying his people doesn’t necessarily make the best choices but in the end I thought he redeemed himself. Anise is an interesting villain as it was clear she wanted someone to identify with and be herself with. Clara became this for her but in the end, Clara couldn’t change who Anise had really become over the years.
In New York, Dr. Victor and Patricia Plum are the bad guys of the story and I have to admit I enjoyed how their story wrapped up. As I mentioned earlier, Drosselmeyer is who Clara refers to as her Godfather. She was introduced to him as a child by her mother and although he is odd, he has always been an important part of her life. Through the years, his shop has become a bit of a sanctuary for Clara to be herself and learn things she wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to away from him.
I can’t really say much about the plot and a lot of the details as I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that there is plenty of action, has some fantastic world building, and just enough romance mixed with a bit of betrayal. I thought this was well done and if you enjoy stories with faeries and magic, definitely check this one out when you can.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for the review copy.
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