The Far West
From #1 New York Times
bestselling author Patricia C. Wrede, the fantastic conclusion to her
tale of magic on the western frontier.
Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child...but also the seventh daughter in her family. Her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful double seventh son. Her life at the edge of the Great Barrier Spell is different from anyone else's that she knows.
When the government forms an expedition to map the Far West, Eff has the opportunity to travel farther than anyone in the world. With Lan, William, Professor Torgeson, Wash, and Professor Ochiba, Eff finds that nothing on the wild frontier is as they expected. There are strange findings in their research, a long prarie winter spent in too-close quarters, and more new species, magical and otherwise, dangerous and benign, than they ever expected to find. And then spring comes, and the explorers realize how tenuous life near the Great Barrier Spell may be if they don't find a way to stop a magical flood in a hurry. Eff's unique way of viewing magic has saved the settlers time and again, but this time all of Columbia is at stake if she should fail.
Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child...but also the seventh daughter in her family. Her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful double seventh son. Her life at the edge of the Great Barrier Spell is different from anyone else's that she knows.
When the government forms an expedition to map the Far West, Eff has the opportunity to travel farther than anyone in the world. With Lan, William, Professor Torgeson, Wash, and Professor Ochiba, Eff finds that nothing on the wild frontier is as they expected. There are strange findings in their research, a long prarie winter spent in too-close quarters, and more new species, magical and otherwise, dangerous and benign, than they ever expected to find. And then spring comes, and the explorers realize how tenuous life near the Great Barrier Spell may be if they don't find a way to stop a magical flood in a hurry. Eff's unique way of viewing magic has saved the settlers time and again, but this time all of Columbia is at stake if she should fail.
(summary from goodreads.com)
I LOVED Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles - they constantly made me laugh. The three books in this series are written much differently - slower, more solemn. This book in particular (the third in the series) was particularly hard for me to get into ... I had to borrow it three times from the library before I reached the point I didn't want to put it down. I still ended up liking it, though - I liked how Eff finally came into her power and confidence. I'm not a huge fan of westerns, so that possibly is why they seemed so slow paced to me. Wrede seemed to be having fun with her alternate history, but since I'm not a history buff by any means, most of her changes went over my head. I would have liked to see more romance, though I was happy how things ended up. I also would have liked to see more of what Eff does with her vast amounts of power - we only got a taste of what a true seventh daughter of a seventh son can do. A fun (but slow!) series.
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Mom note: As
a mother of readers, I also
want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or
would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I
forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures (though it could have been classified as Juvenile literature as well).
Violence: none; Profanity: none; Sex: none (slight references to flirting and "persuasive men", but that is it)
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