Grayling's Song

Karen Cushman, author of the Newbery Honor book Catherine, Called Birdy and Newbery Medal winner The Midwife's Apprentice, has a penned another prize-winner with Grayling’s Song. While those two — and most of her other books — are set in a historical medieval or Elizabethan England, Grayling’s Song is set in an England of the Never-Never, a medieval England where so-called “cunning women” really do practice witchery.

Grayling was named for the grayling moth, and she lives up to her namesake: unobtrusive, quiet, going about her work without thinking for herself. However, when Grayling’s hedge witch/healer mother is herself enchanted, Grayling embarks on a journey to track down her mother’s stolen grimoire (spell book) and show more reverse the curse. Grayling learns a lot about magic and the importance of loyalty and selflessness in this incredible tale sure to please adults as much as children.

Readers of any age will love this tale of an introverted girl gaining her self-esteem and finding her own magic and place in the world. Please, please, please, Ms. Cushman! You must write a sequel so we can find out more about Grayling!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group, and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review. show less

Grayling is the daughter of a hedge witch, but she has no magic of her own, or at least, only a few little things she has learned from helping her mother. But Grayling's life is about to change: she comes home one day to find the cottage burned down, her mother's grimoire stolen, and her mother half turned into a tree. Grayling must go on a quest to find the missing grimoire and any magical folk who have not succumbed to the same leafy fate as her mother. Along the way, Grayling gathers together a motley group of traveling companions, faces many dangers, and learns that she is capable of more than she could ever have imagined.

All of Karen Cushman's books are marked by careful research, keen insight, and gentle humor, and this book is no show more exception. All in all, I found it charming but not compelling: I sat it down for several days, read other things, and came back to it -- but I did come back. In fact, I'd like to hear more about Grayling, though I've never known Cushman to write a sequel. The ending is open enough to let readers gaze wistfully into Grayling's future, though all of the major plot threads are tied off. I'd recommend this book to fans of the author, as well as those who enjoy fantasy stories about common people in a medieval setting. show less

There are many things I like about this book -- the medieval setting, the herbs, the Tyromancy and the papermaking and the the shapeshifting mouse companion. Altogether, many satisfying parts.The characters were hard to love. The way they talked to each other, and particularly to Pansy, while amusing in the use of period insult, was unkind. Does that make it more realistic? That there is frustrated yelling at each other and the road seems endless seems realistic, but if you constantly refer to a person as a useless lump of a girl, chances are good that she won't turn out well. Oh well, perfectly respectable, magical coming of age tale with unkind talk throughout.

Pleasant--very pleasant, comforting like rice pudding--with perhaps the least impressive antagonist of all time, a quasi-fellowship that contributes very little, some slight growth on the part of the protagonist, and a marvellous creation in little Pook (I'm guessing at spelling, as I "read" this via Audible) who contributes almost nothing to the plot, but who gets the best characterization.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).

I would like to thank Clarion Books & NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC to review. While I received this ebook for free, that has no impact upon the honesty of my review.

Goodreads Teaser: "When Grayling's mother, wise woman Hannah Strong, starts turning into a tree, Hannah sends Grayling to call "the others" for help. Shy and accustomed to following her mother in everything, Grayling takes to the road. She manages to summon several "others" — second-string magic makers who have avoided the tree spell — and sets off on a perilous trip to recover Hannah's grimoire, or recipe book of charms and potions. By default the leader of the group, which includes a weather witch, an enchantress, an aspiring witch, a wizard whose specialty is show more divination with cheese, and a talking and shape shifting mouse called Pook, Grayling wants nothing more than to go home.

Kidnapping, imprisonment, near drowning, and ordinary obstacles like hunger, fatigue, and foul weather plague the travelers, but they persist and achieve their goal. Returning, Grayling finds herself reluctant to part with her companions — especially Pook. At home she's no longer content to live with her bossy mother, who can look after herself just fine, and soon sets out on another journey to unfamiliar places . . . possibly to see the young paper maker who warmed her heart."

A classic coming of age story, Grayling could be any girl on some level. Granted the time period she lives in is far distant, and while little in her life is recognizable, that which remains is the basic stuff that is true for all, regardless of the era it occurs in. Grayling is faced with saving her mother, and soon discovers that it's not only her mother that requires saving, but most all wise women, cunning people, and those with powerful magics. Yet Grayling herself has no magic, so how is she to defeat a foe that managed to subjugate those with far more power than her? All Grayling thinks she has is what she's learned from watching her own mother.

The heart of the tale is about learning who you are, what you're capable of, and not only finding yourself but also trusting the inner you. So while Grayling meets many an interesting character, and has several adventures, all of those things are used to help lead her to the ultimate truth of discovering just who she is and what she's made of. And the answer she gets may surprise her, but it doesn't seem to surprise any of her traveling companions.

I enjoyed this story, as it was sweet and funny in places. Even though it's set in a different era it's filled with characters that are easy to relate to. It's quite simple to understand why Grayling likes or dislikes the characters she encounters on her journey. And though there are adults in her group of traveling companions, they frequently end up needing Grayling to be the voice of reason. This of course provides a powerful lesson for the readers, that no one, even adults, are always going to be perfect. The other really useful lesson revolves around Pansy, an incredibly annoying character. But of the various lessons that could be attributed to her involvement, the most important may be to treat others with respect. Or, it may be the importance of taking ownership for our actions. Or maybe even the fact that there are no real shortcuts to the valuable things in life — be they objects or goals to attain. So I suppose Pansy provides many very important lessons all by herself, and not a one paints her in a flattering light. For good reason, as you'll see once you meet her. Though this is Grayling's story, Pansy does seem to try to hijack it periodically. And sometimes she comes mighty close to succeeding, but in the end Grayling retains ownership of her story.

While this book is listed as Children's and Middle Grade level reading, I felt that it should have probably been one or the other and then been winnowed down to fit the target audience better. The trouble I had was that since it takes place in historical times, when people's lives were quite different, it seemed to give either conflicting messages, or simply poorly explained messages. Painting Grayling as a child when she begins her journey and then letting her up and leave to follow her dreams a short time later simply didn't make sense when viewed through the lens of society today. If the readers are aware how quickly kids grew up in Grayling's era, and how young they would marry and start families, then the discrepancy between her actions in the beginning and end might make more sense. But without that historical knowledge it makes the changes rather jarring and a bit confusing, or so I would think if I encountered this story without that knowledge of history. But that aside I found this to be an entertaining story. show less

Cushman's gentle charm underlines the action!

Hannah, Grayling Strong's mother, a wise woman is bewitched. As it seems are all the country's other enchanters. Having been magically rooted to the ground she is slowly turning into a tree. On top of that Hannah's grimoire (spell book) disappeared. Grayling is her mother's only hope. She must seek out others and try to find the answer. The trouble is that after years of being denigrated by her mother, Grayling is afraid of her own shadow. However, set forth she does. On her quest she is accompanied by a shape changing mouse Pook's attempts at shape changing are more often than not fraught with disaster. A lively and often humorous journey ensues. Grayling and Pook search for answers and find show more that magic is not the only answer. Heaps of action and mystery, Karen Cushman has once again turned in a stellar novel that both provokes and charms.

A NetGalley ARC show less

This is a beautifully written coming-of-age book by Newbery medalist, Karen Cushman. It left me teary-eyed near the end. Ms. Cushman has,a special way of endearing us.to her characters. I especially like Pook and Grayling. I am hoping for a sequel or a series so that I may keep reading.

The book is about a girl, Grayling, who after her home burns down, finds her mother in serious need of help. Her mother sends her in search of anyone who can help her. Grayling soon finds that locating help is not quite as easy as finding someone willing to provide assistance. The people she comes across who want to help become more of a hindrance to her. Yet, she can't seem to sever the ties to her new friends.

Grayling realizes that she must become show more the.heroine as much to save her new friends as it is to save her mother. She also realizes that without her friends, she couldn't have done the heroic deeds that she accomplished. When it comes time to say goodbye to them and check on her mother, she finds that they meant much more to her than she ever thought possible. Part who-dunnit, this book takes us along on one exciting journey that you are sure to enjoy.

A special thank you to Karen Cushman, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group Clarion Books, and NetGalley for giving me a free ARC of this book in order to read it and give my honest review. show less