Janet McNaughton

An Earthly Knight — (2004) Publisher: A cloud has descended over the household of Lady Jeanette Avenel. The year is 1162. Sixteen-year-old Jenny has always enjoyed her freedom as second daughter of a Norman nobleman in Teviotdale, Scotland. But when Jenny's sister, Isabel, disgraces the family by running away with a dangerous suitor, Jenny is thrust reluctantly into the role of elder daughter. While Jenny worries about her sister's future, her father's attention turns keenly toward Jenny, and finding her a worthy suitor. When Jenny is chosen as a potential bride for William de Warenne, brother of the king of Scotland and heir to the crown, redemption of her family's name seems within reach. Amid formal banquets and jousting tournaments, she struggles to impress the aloof Earl William. At the same time, however, she finds herself drawn to Tam Lin, a mysterious young man. Rumored to have been kidnapped by fairies, Tam harbors a dark secret from his past that threatens everyone close to him ... including Jenny. Glimmering with exquisite detail, Janet McNaughton's beautifully woven story transports readers to a magical medieval world where one young woman navigates the forceful tides of tradition and the ancient power of fairies to define her own destiny.

An Earthly Knight: Interesting character study, flat romance and fantasy

I went through a phase a few years ago where I sought out every retelling of the Tam Lin story that I could get my hands on. So the title An Earthly Knight was instantly familiar to me, and I knew I needed to read this book. I was especially intrigued by the author's choice to return the story to its original setting, medieval Scotland.

Unfortunately, the historical aspect falls a little flat. McNaughton has a tendency to get a bit infodump-y. I wasn't familiar with the politics of that time and place, and so I appreciated being brought up to speed, but there has to have been a more deft way of doing it than having one character expounding history to another character who already knew that history.

I also wasn't thrilled with the romance. Tam Lin was too Generically Nice, and his rival, Earl William, was too one-dimensionally nasty. If Tam Lin needed a foil, I'd have preferred either a bad man who was charming on the surface, or an honorable man that Jeanette simply had no feelings for.

As for the supernatural, it feels a little tacked on, and it might have worked better if it had been either emphasized more or omitted entirely. (Tam Lin without the supernatural — that could be intriguing. What if Jeanette had thought he was fae-touched, only to learn he was *just* the dispossessed heir to Carter Hall...) As it stands, that aspect comes almost out of nowhere and seems rushed.

What did work was the coming-of-age aspect of the tale. Jeanette begins as a free-spirited teenage girl, and as she is pushed into a social-climbing role, she allows herself to be swept up into snobbish and selfish attitudes for a time. I didn't like her much during the middle of the book. After several events that make her question this new outlook on life, Jeanette begins to find her old self again, albeit a more mature version of that self. In the end, on some level, she's not so much choosing between William and Tam Lin, but between the person she is when she's with William and the person she is when she's with Tam Lin. I did find that aspect interesting. —Kelly Lasiter

Brave Jack and the Unicorn — (2005) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Neither handsome nor clever, Jack — the youngest of three brothers — causes his widowed mother much concern. The family is convinced he is nothing but a fool. When his brothers go off to seek their fortune and don't return, Jack is sent to find them. Along the way he performs good deeds for helpless creatures, who repay his kindness in magical ways. Hearing of an evil magician who controls the life of the princess, Jack poses as a suitor and faces three tests — but can he find the elusive unicorn and save the princess from her fate? Acclaimed Newfoundland author Janet McNaughton tells a classic tale of good and evil, accompanied by Susan Tooke's illuminating paintings, rich with influences from the Middle Ages, Celtic symbolism, and Newfoundland's breathtaking coastal landscape.