SINGER by JEAN THESMAN Gwenore's mother is the evil Rhiamon, whose thirst for power transcends any morality. For years, Gwenore has lived in terrified captivity, not understanding why her mother so loathes her. Then she manages to escape, along with her longtime nursemaid and a mysterious enchanter-priest. First Gwenore is hidden at an abbey where she learns to read and make music. Then she is discovered. Her name and appearance changed, she is moved to the women's healing community of Blessingwood, and is taught medicine and herbwork. But then tragedy strikes again, and she must leave. As Mary Singer, she becomes nursemaid to the children of the magical king of Lir-until the king marries Rhiamon. Singer knows that her mother will try to kill the children. What can she do to save their lives-and her own? Based on the classic Irish folk-tale "The Children of Lir," this swiftly paced fantasy will keep readers turning the pages. Editorial Reviews Publishers Weekly - Publishers Weekly Thesman's (The Other Ones) compulsively readable and satisfying medieval fantasy opens with an adrenaline-pumping scene: 12-year-old Gwenore escapes from her mother, the wicked witch Lady Rhiamon (who combines the nastiest qualities of Snow White's stepmother and Lady Macbeth). The heroine's first refuge is an abbey run by resident nuns, a haven for 700 women and girls: "Refugee daughters, runaway brides, wives escaping brutal husbands... women who did not find that their homes were safe places." At the abbey Gwenore learns to read and write, and begins composing and singing her own songs. But the ever-present fear of her mother's vengeance forces Gwenore to move on again, this time to Blessingwood, gracious residence of four accomplished women, widowed when their husbands were killed in a Crusade. There Gwenore adds gardening, medicine, and surgery to her accomplishments. Outside this gentle, feminine oasis of learning and culture the world seems a brutish place indeed: vagrant knights rape local girls, mutilate old men and harass the villagers, while bullying husbands look forward to replacing their wives with younger women. Yet it's a breathtakingly magical world as well, in which tapestries foretell the future, animals speak to those who can hear them, and the shape-shifting Fair Folk dwell alongside the human race. Eventually Gwenore plays out her destiny; perhaps even more significantly, she comes to terms with an ugly childhood and grows into a compassionate, accomplished young woman. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. School Library Journal - School Library Journal Gr 6-10-Gwenore is only 12 when she escapes from her mother, the evil witch Rhiamon, who both hates her daughter and covets the mysterious magical powers symbolized by the birthmark on the girl's wrist. Gwenore travels through medieval England and Wales under secret identities for several years, learning the arts of healing, gardening, and singing. Eventually, she arrives in the Irish kingdom of Lir, where she becomes the beloved teacher and companion of the king's four children. When her power-hungry mother marries the king and turns the children into swans, Mary Singer, as Gwenore is now known, must vanquish Rhiamon and save the children. Loosely based on the Irish folk tale "The Children of Lir," this engaging, well-written novel features a blend of historical fiction and high fantasy that will appeal to fans of both genres. Gwenore's flight from one hiding place to another, under constant threat of discovery by Rhiamon, makes for a dramatic read. Particularly interesting are her experiences in two communities of independent women: first an abbey that functions as a shelter for abused women of all ages, then an estate run by four sisters whose husbands died in the Crusades. Recommend Singer to readers who enjoyed Kevin Crossley-Holland's King of the Middle March (Scholastic, 2004); while that book offers an unforgettable depiction of soldiers' and embattled civilians' lives during the Crusades, Thesman brings to life the everyday struggles of commoners in the years after these bloody wars.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. Kirkus Reviews A gorgeous fantasy by a veteran maker of worlds who offers her own version of the events surrounding the Irish legend of The Children of Lir. The drama is almost wholly interior, but it is mesmerizing. The girl, Gwenore, is hated by her mother, Rhiannon, a vicious and terrible Welsh witch. She escapes through those who love her and the Fair Folk to Blessingwood, a place where women study and heal, and where, renamed Mary Singer, she finds magic in the study of healing and the making of music. Readers learn all these things through Mary's own thoughts, as she puzzles out her life and the birthmark, red and shaped like a teardrop, on her wrist. The implacable Rhiannon's search for Mary Singer leads to flight again as well as the destruction of Blessingwood. Singer comes to Lir where she learns to love Lir's royal children, but Rhiannon marries their father and arrives to destroy both the children of Lir and Singer in a final climax that mixes pity, horror and hope. Not for every reader, but richly rewarding for those caught in its spell. (Fantasy. YA)