02/01/2016
Set in England during the reign of Henry VIII, Hardstaff’s debut is a fast-moving and suspenseful adventure starring motherless 11-year-old Moss, who has lived all her life on London’s Tower Hill. Moss’s father’s job is to behead the Tower prisoners; hers is to carry away the severed heads in a basket. Jeered at as “basket girl,” Moss despises beheadings, but her father has always told her they themselves are prisoners whose lives are spared only because he serves as the king’s executioner. When Moss discovers that this is a lie—and that she is living under a curse from the Riverwitch who saved her as a newborn—she runs away, embarking on a hand-to-mouth existence filled with indignities and dangers, often accompanied by a generous young thief, who shares what little he has with Moss. Searching for the place she was conceived and aware that she is living on borrowed time, Moss is a headstrong, emotional, and determined heroine. Hardstaff believably conveys the gritty details of life on the edge in the context of historical events of the era. Ages 9–13. (Apr.)
"Set in England during the reign of Henry VIII, Hardstaff's debut is a fast-moving and suspenseful adventure starring motherless 11-year-old Moss, who has lived all her life on London's Tower Hill. Moss's father's job is to behead the Tower prisoners; hers is to carry away the severed heads in a basket. Jeered at as 'basket girl,' Moss despises beheadings, but her father has always told her they themselves are prisoners whose lives are spared only because he serves as the king's executioner. When Moss discovers that this is a lie—and that she is living under a curse from the Riverwitch who saved her as a newborn—she runs away, embarking on a hand-to-mouth existence filled with indignities and dangers, often accompanied by a generous young thief, who shares what little he has with Moss. Searching for the place she was conceived and aware that she is living on borrowed time, Moss is a headstrong, emotional, and determined heroine. Hardstaff believably conveys the gritty details of life on the edge in the context of historical events of the era."—Publishers Weekly
02/01/2016
Gr 5–8—Moss hates her life as the basket girl and executioner's daughter, so she leaves the tower for subsistence living along the river with an orphan named Salter. In this British import, Hardstaff weaves a coming-of-age story set in Tudor England with folklore about a Riverwitch. Moss's frustrations with her father's overprotectiveness and her desire to somehow connect with her late mother are genuine. Moss matures as she searches for where her mother died and through her friendship with Salter. She fully realizes Salter's "bread first, then morals" philosophy during her escapade to Hampton Court. The Riverwitch folklore and the suspense that it creates, along with the themes of love and family, strengthen Moss's story. Parts of the novel, particularly Moss meeting the queen, feel contrived and too heavy-handed. The sequel, River Daughter (Egmont UK, 2015), is stronger and more engaging than the first entry, as it focuses more squarely on Moss's connection with the river and the Riverwitch. An author's note that briefly describes the inspiration for the story is included. VERDICT Though this work is not as enthralling as Karen Cushman's historical fiction, readers who enjoy history and folklore will learn about Tudor England through a commoner's eyes in this British import.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY
2016-01-09
When she tries to save her neck, a young girl learns there are dangers outside the dungeon too. Brought to the Tower of London as a motherless baby, 12-year-old Moss hates her limited life and reviled role as the basket girl, carrying the heads of the newly decapitated after Pa beheads Henry VIII's prisoners. She loves stories, like the one of the Riverwitch, but she rebels when she doubts her father's tales of their ties to the tower. Seizing the first chance at freedom, Moss plunges right into the Thames and danger. She hobnobs with nobles, befriends a boot thief, and tangles with the supernatural spirit who tries to lure children beneath the icy surface. Hardstaff gambles with her blend of fiction and folklore and her compression of dates, but she excels with her depiction of Tudor England, offering lavish descriptions of clothing and food, a moderate amount of lower-class dialect, and a slew of stench and grime. Anne Boleyn comes off a bit too prescient and moralistic to be believed, but court politics get an arch appraisal. Unhampered by any real historical role yet propelled by the fairy-tale undercurrent, Moss shifts, rebellious adolescent, clever child, and fortuitous historical-fiction heroine by turn. A richly detailed debut with a classic feel, full of grit, gore, and gilt. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)
