Reviewed by Kate McDowell (Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Sept. 2009, Vol. 63, No. 1)
'Set in an imagined American Wild West, the book crafts a frontier wherein Native Americans have been replaced by dangerous dragons and other magical creatures as the main threat to settlers'

Reviewed by Claire E. Gross (The Horn Book, July/Aug. 2009, Vol. 85, No. 4)
'Wrede's characters are understated but complex, maturing in believable ways throughout the book's sweeping thirteen-year span'

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Thirteenth Child is by one of my favorite children's writers, Patricia C. Wrede. She wrote the Dealing with Dragons series, which I really love. This one is an interesting mix between a Western and a fantasy. The story takes place in an alternate world where it's the late 1800s and magic is common. Lewis and Clark were lost in a dangerous wilderness full of magical beasts. Eff is the 13th child of the title, and she is also the sister of a 7th son of a 7th son. 13 is bad luck, so when anything goes wrong, her extended family - and even the town - blame it all on her. Her parents get tired of it all move Out West, where her father gets a job at a university of magic. For the first time, Eff gets a chance at a normal life.

I really enjoyed this one. It's the first in a series, and I can't wait to see what Eff gets up to now that she's developing her own magical talents. Lots of fun. ( )

Interesting read which drags a little at first but gathers pace at the end. ( )

Reviewed by Andrea for TeensReadToo.com

Eff was born the thirteenth child. She grew up hearing stories about how the "Thirteenth Child" is supposed to have great talent but bring great danger and despair to everyone around her.

Her twin, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son, or a double-seven, and is supposed to have great magical talent, in a good way, and luck that makes everyone in awe of him.

This story tells of their growing up, from Eff's point of view, and the challenges they face.

This story started off really well. I loved reading about Eff, Lan, and their magic. I liked reading about how they grew up and how much magic was involved in their lives. But then towards the end it started talking about these bugs that sucked up the magic, and that was the whole plot of the story at the end.

It kind of turned me off to the story, but overall it was well-written and something different in the YA fantasy world. ( )

I'm feeling too lazy to write a coherent review, but I read it in one day, so I think we can take that as Good. ( )