Prospero's Children
by Jan Siegel

Mermaids, Atlantis, young girls-who-are-ready-to-awaken-the-magic-within-them, and a wolf-dog make this a very interesting story. I had a hard time putting it down.

The premise is that a long time ago in a kingdom by the sea, a psychotic queen broke-that-which-came-from-another-realm (an artifact that gave magical ability to those who came into contact with it - its not as cheesy as it sounds) in a vain effort to triumph over death by opening the gate between the worlds of the living and the dead.

A teen-aged girl in present day England becomes the focus of the conflict and travels back in time to prevent the universe-bending repercussions of the mad queen's actions.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the flow of text. It had the effect of lulling you into a trance. The author has a keen grasp of how to connect mere letters to words, words to phrases, and phrases to ideas that flow beautifully.


Recommended background music to listen to while reading: sasha and john digweed's Northern Exposure 2: EastCoast Edition