Amazon US $3.49
Amazon CA n/a
Adventure / YA /
coming of age
1860
England
Set amidst the rural
countryside of Northern England, Sally Barlow-Perez’s The Unintended Runaways nestles itself quickly into the hearts of
readers. Told from the perspective of its teen heroine, an orphaned gypsy,
readers can’t help but be captivated by Lia’s independent free spirit,
righteous indignation, and firm sense of justice as she breaks free of the
tyranny of an orphanage cook and a seemingly ominous parson to gather the only
friends left to her: Samson the shaggy dog, Pegasus the Shire horse, and
Artemis the Siamese cat, and make a run for freedom.
Along the way, Lia
hooks up with a rag tag crew of runaway brothers, Ro, Tim, and Cal. The group
forge a makeshift familial bond like none other in their despair and heartache,
weaving strength, courage, and determination to succeed into their quest to
deliver Lia home and find for themselves a new life free from their volatile
and abusive uncle.
The unlikely band of
runaways venture into farms and across counties hiding themselves from the
threat of capture to make their way to Teignmouth, a small seaside village and
the only place Lia has ever called home. In search of an absent father to fill
the sudden void her beloved grandfather’s death caused, Lia unwittingly, and
perhaps a bit grudgingly, finds her heart open to a new clan and hope
unimagined.
Barlow-Perez rebirths
a child’s deep connection to those special pets, a passion for adventure quest,
the spirit of togetherness forged by action, the collective tragedy of loss,
and the sheer joy at being alive. This author brings to the page an
intertwining of the modern female archetype with a very traditional old world
England through the use of a younger gypsy heroine whose ethnicity places her
outside the bounds of societal norms of that period and cleverly entices the
reader into that glorious suspension of disbelief. Or perhaps, the call is to believe.
Tasked with nothing
short of rekindling the child and resettling gender roles in the reader, this
novel delivers!
© Kathryn Voigt
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Looks good. Shared to my page.
ReplyDeleteIt does look good doesn't it? I've added it to my TBR Everest Mountain as well.
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