Review Detail

For fans of Shannon Hale or Gail Carson Levine, The Amaranth Enchantment provides a refreshing addition to the genre of fairy tale adaptations. Lucinda Chapdelaine barely remembers her parents who died when she was very young. Raised by her well-meaning uncle and vicious aunt in a jewelry shop, she's about as poor and insignificant as she can get. Until a mysterious woman happens into the shop, leaving behind a mysterious and powerful jewel. Lucinda is determined to use the jewel - or the woman - to save her uncle from destitution. But his untimely death, and the theft of the jewel land her in the middle of the worst imbroglio she could have imagined. Accompanied by a friendly goat, an untrustworthy street urchin, and her own pluck, Lucinda must track down the jewel and bring it back to its owner - even if it means stealing it back, right from under the nose of the crown prince.