by Julie Berry
ages: 10-14
First sentence: “I sit on a velvet stool at Mama’s feet, watching her brush her hair.”
Review copy provided by Bloomsbury.

I’m doing Dewey’s Q&A review, as part of requirement #3 for this week’s geek.

From Sherry: Is the story based on one particular fairy tale or is it just fairy tale-like?
It’s not really based on a particular fairy tale, though it does have elements of the Cinderella story. It does, however, read and feel like a fairy tale. A girl’s — Lucinda — parents are murdered, and she’s brought up being a servant in her Uncle and Aunt’s jewelry shop. Until one day, when a woman — the dreaded Amaranth Witch — comes in and leaves a stone to be repaired. That, and a visit in the night from Peter — a street thief whom Lucinda has never seen before — set in motion a series of events that end up changing Lucinda’s life.

What other books did it remind you of, if any?
That’s a hard one, mostly because I’m bad at that. I would say it feels similar to a Shannon Hale or Jessica Day George book. It’s a bit darker, though, more like the original Grimm tales. But really, it’s its own thing.

From Shannon: Did the fact that The Amaranth Enchantment was fairy tale based make it more interesting to read or less? I did find that it felt like a fairy tale made it quite interesting to read. I did like that the magic felt effortless, and wasn’t overbearing. It did have many of fairy tale elements, including the requisite bad guy, but he didn’t really do much except lurk around in the background. It really was just a tale of a girl trying to figure out how to get her old life back.

From Care: Is this the first book you’ve read by Julie Berry? Would you read another?
Yes, because it’s her first book. I would like to read more by her; she’s a good storyteller.

If you could only pick three words to describe this book, what would they be?
Unique. Intriguing. Fun.

And a bunch from Suey: Is this book a fantasy? It sounds like one.
It is but it isn’t. It’s could be called historical fiction, the country and place felt real even if it was imagined. And although there’s magic, it doesn’t really play a huge role. So, yeah, I think it’s fantasy, but not your traditional one.

What was your favorite thing about the story?
Hmmm. Tough question. I liked the mix of religion (of sorts) and history (of sorts) and magic (of sorts) to create a fairy tale (of sorts). It felt different than what I was expecting.

Who was the most interesting character?
I liked Peter best. Lucinda was interesting, but I never really quite got into her head. And Gregor (the love interest prince guy) was a bit too… shallow? perfect? good to be true? one-dimensional? for my taste. But, Peter. He wrapped me around his fingers and stuck me in his pocket from the moment he climbed in Lucinda’s window until the very end.

Thanks to all who provided the questions!