Polly Whittaker is getting ready to go back to college when something triggers a memory she didn’t realize she had. This starts her on a search to discover what had happened to her in the past that she no longer remembers.

Diana Wynne Jones has crafted an exciting and mysterious fantasy novel using the legends of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer as the basis of her story. Polly discovers her past has many layers and a best friend that she doesn’t remember. The riddle of the past must be solved before she can go onto the future. Although this is a YA book, readers of any age who love of good fantasy tales will enjoy this book. 3 ½ stars ( )

Polly has been looking at the picture above her bed. With its dark figures, smoky flames and sense of foreboding, it has always fascinated her. And its name, 'Fire and Hemlock' that seems to link to a story in the book she is holding.

But why is the story not there? As she searches her memory for the answer, other things suddenly pop out at her, events that don't fit with what she remembers, with the path her life has seemed to travel.

And then, the memories begin to fall into place. Thomas Lynn, her best friend that has been erased from her mind; the adventures they went on that seemed to always be coming true; that house. The house where it started with a funeral.

This was a spine tingling, dark and mysterious fantasy that has truly shown this writer at the top of her game. With multi-layered characters, events that don't quite make sense, and the Leroys that keep coming back, I couldn't help but read this into the early hours of the morning.

Every part of the plot is stunningly constructed, with Polly's various sections of her life all vividly real, and as they are revealed, you cannot help being drawn in. This held the kind of darkness that many fantasy writers can only dream of. That doesn't need to involve graphic violence or gratuitous death, but that sucks you in and leaves you holding your breath as the characters become more and more tangled in the vast web.

I started this at 8.30pm, and finished at 4am. Surely there can be no better recommendation than the inability to put a book down to sleep.

A spine chilling fantasy with twists and turns that suck you in ( )

Loved this when Janet lent it to me, and the kind ceb-fairy bought it for me for my birthday, so happy to read it again. Wonderful fantasy novel of the best sort, mixing old myth and fairy tale with modern life and young people. Recommended to all. ( )

I had to buy this because I lost my original copy. One of my favourite books as a teen was Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, so this story always suffered by comparison. But it is still a wonderfully crafted tale of growing up, of memory, and the ways reality can be shaped.
I'd give this to fans of magical realism/urban fantasy. ( )

Nineteen year old Polly is packing to for her return to university when she discovers that she has a second set of memories of the past nine years. It starts at funeral which she gatecrashed and where she met Thomas Lynn. She and Tom write letters to each other, detailing the adventures of their heroic alter-egos, adventures which seem to have a habit of coming true. But now, nine years later, Polly is remembering that she did something awful, but what?
This is my favourite book and I reread it every year. I love Tam Lin retellings and this is the best, but I love it for Polly herself besides. Each time I reread it I hope that maybe this time I will understand the ending, but then again if I do I might want to read it less.