The Castle Behind Thorns

Starred review from March 17, 2014
While trapped in a cursed castle surrounded by thorns, 13-year-old Sand, a commoner who would rather apprentice as a blacksmith than fulfill his father’s aspirations by attending university, unintentionally resurrects Perrotte, a young noblewoman who once lived in the castle, which has been torn apart: “Nothing was whole here, nothing at all. Not a spoon, not a toothpick, not a bed, not a door.” In this ambitious historical fantasy set in medieval Brittany, Sand and Perrotte form an intense, prickly friendship as they fix what they can of the shattered castle and learn that “some things are not meant to be mended.” Haskell (Handbook for Dragon Slayers) seamlessly integrates the legends of Breton saints into her story, making the magical miraculous and grounding it in the location and era. Her characters’ passions for blacksmithing and astronomy, the details of which she accessibly describes, further anchor this fantasy in reality. Exploring a range of weighty subjects, from the horror of war to the difficulty of forgiveness, Haskell makes every subplot and character count, reinforcing the story’s elaborate metaphorical and thematic structure. Ages 8–12. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates.

Starred review from June 1, 2014

Gr 4-8-Sand awakens inside a large fireplace, in a room where "every single thing" is broken and quickly realizes that he is in the Sundered Castle, a landmark that he has seen his whole life. Everyone in Sand's village knows that the castle, which is surrounded by an impenetrable thorn barrier, was damaged in an earthquake and isn't safe. As Sand begins to explore the ruins, he discovers that every object in the castle has been broken, and he begins to use his skills as an apprentice blacksmith to fix what he can. The protagonist is soon joined by Merlin the Falcon and Perrotte, the lost heir to the castle, who seems to have returned from death. Sand and Perrotte work together to repair the damage and gather the food and supplies they need to survive. They soon discover that their improvements seem to make the thorns that surround the castle disappear. Perrotte and Sand also come to understand their own and their families' pasts as they work toward forgiveness, facing their inner and outer conflicts. The developing relationship between the two main characters is portrayed realistically; it's often as prickly as the thorns that surround them. They both come of age as they accept themselves and those around them. Fans of Gail Carson Levine's and Shannon Hale's fairy tale adaptations will enjoy the adventure and mystery here.-Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2014
Faint echoes of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White" waft up from this new fantasy. Sand (short for Alexandre) wakes in the ashes of a fireplace, in a castle in which every room and object has been broken: the Sundered Castle. He doesn't know how he got there, but a vicious, active wall of thorns keeps him within. Son of a blacksmith, he goes about attempting to mend whatever he can, and when he finds the body of a girl, he rearranges her limbs carefully--and she awakens. Perrotte has been dead--or asleep--for over 25 years. Like Sand, she is about 13; unlike him, she is of noble birth. The first half of the tale is about mending everything in the castle, Perrotte and Sand working together through the forging and firing and hammering. The second half, however, gets rather muddled. Perrotte withholds her complicated and violent political history from Sand, as well as the news that a knight will be coming through the thorn barrier to plunge her back into it. It's possible that two saints whose broken relics Sand mends hold the key to the future. These elements do not hang together as well as the beautifully sustained central metaphor of blacksmithing. Moreover, Sand and Perrotte seem much older than 13, and the ending preaches loudly. Still, it stands alone neatly, and the lore of blacksmith work is carried through with vivid energy. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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May 1, 2014
After a fight with his father, apprentice blacksmith Sand throws a nail into the wishing well of Saint Melor and wakes up the next morning in the Sundered Castle -- so called because everything in the castle, from bedsheets to anvils, is broken or torn in two. Unable to breach the wall of vicious thorns surrounding the castle, Sand begins mending things simply to survive -- a bucket to draw well water and a rope to pull it up with are two early priorities. But bolstered by the saint's power, Sand's mending goes far beyond the ordinary: when he finds a girl's corpse thrown from her crypt, Sand straightens her limbs, restoring her to life in the process. Perrotte is a princess whose murder at the hands of her stepmother and Sand's own father twenty-five years earlier catalyzed the destruction and sealing-off of the castle. The relationship between princess and blacksmith is rocky at first, but when their efforts toward survival and escape begin to bear fruit, the two develop a deeper trust. Haskell effortlessly weaves together internal and external forces, leading to a tense climax, though the fairy-tale setting and inherent gratification of mending broken things keep the story cozy. Subtle parallels to "Sleeping Beauty" are omnipresent, but Sand and Perrotte's work of restoring the castle, avenging old wrongs, and forgiving once-bitter enemies takes its own, novel course. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

June 1, 2014
Grades 4-6 Sand, a 13-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a blacksmith, finds himself trapped in a magical castle with no means of escape. Destroyed in an earthquake 20 years earlier and surrounded by an impenetrable forest of deadly thorns, the Sundered Castle has always been the stuff of legend. As Sand repairs the damage around him piece by piece, the castle slowly returns to life, and when long-dead royal daughter Perrotte appears in the courtyard, Sand can no longer deny that there is powerful magic behind the castle's stories. Haskell has created a rich fantasy set in medieval Brittany that reads almost like a parable. Sand and Perrotte, each harboring deep secrets that explain their imprisonment, forge a tentative alliance that blossoms into true friendship as they work toward escape. Themes of self-reliance, forgiveness, and personal integrity figure prominently but are developed naturally through the intricate plot and personal growth of the characters. The straightforward narration belies the introspective core of this appealing story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Apprentice blacksmith Sand finds himself in the Sundered Castle--so called because everything is broken in two. Sand begins mending things; when he finds the corpse of Perrotte, a princess, he straightens her limbs, restoring her to life. Subtle parallels to "Sleeping Beauty" are omnipresent, but Sand and Perrotte's work of restoring the castle and avenging old wrongs takes its own, novel course.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)