Longbow Girl

November 30, 2015
When Merry Owen discovers an ancient text in a burial mound on her family’s property, she finds the solution to her family’s financial dilemmas and also a riddle that leads her to 1537 and the reign of King Henry VIII. Fifteen-year-old Merry, descendent of the longbow archers of Nanteos, is the Longbow Girl, trained by her father to “protect the Crown” in exchange for Welsh land. When the de Courcys of Black Castle learn of her book and her family’s troubles, they are eager to retake the land once theirs, but Merry has other ideas—outwitting the de Courcys and a treacherous archeologist by traveling back in time to defend her family’s legacy in an archery tournament. With the help of best friend James de Courcy, Merry discovers a new, confident voice within herself despite freezing dungeons and the threat of execution. Though the middle chapters are a bit sluggish, Davies’s (Ark Storm) first novel for young adults richly attends to history, weaving Welsh legends and mysticism into a story that abounds with adventure and features an uncommon heroine. Ages 12–up. Agency: AGI Vigliano Literary.

December 15, 2015
A high-stakes time-travel mystery/adventure set in the wild Welsh hills. Fifteen-year-old Merry Owen, primed by a decade of training that cost her an eye three years ago, is the first female heir of her family's 700-year-old pledge to protect the Crown by the skill of the longbow, a now-honorary tradition that goes back to the Battle of Crecy in 1346. Her family lives on land carved out from the estate of the Earl de Courcy. Davies, in her wonderfully suspenseful debut for teens, sets up an essential central conflict: the ongoing enmity between the Owens and the de Courcys, which Merry and James de Courcy, best friends and fellow risk-takers, must negotiate. This intricately crafted story pivots when Merry discovers a hidden burial mound and an ancient-looking book which is later verified as an extremely valuable lost tale of the Mabinogion. The book, translated in bits, refers to another land and treasures, "a warrior bold, who comes from far away," and is filled with lyrical riddles and clues that lead Merry to a stream, a waterfall, and a concealed cave, a portal back to 1537, during the rule of Henry VIII, where danger lurks at every turn, and it's up to Merry and her archery prowess to save her family's land both then and now.... Davies' love of history and folklore shine through this exciting and gripping tale of a resourceful, brave, and complex girl. (Fantasy. 12-16)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 7-10-Merry Owen and her family live on a farm in the shadow of Wales's Black Castle, owned by Lord de Courcy, whose son, James, is Merry's best friend (and possible romantic interest). The Owens acquired the farm in the 14th century after one of Merry's ancestors, a longbowman, saved the king's life in battle, as long as the Owen longbowman swore to protect the Crown. Generations of de Courcys have been trying to get the land back and are now close to succeeding. When Merry unearths a text that may be a lost tale of the Mabinogion, she sees a way to possibly save her family's farm. What she reads in the book, however, complicates matters and sends Merry back to the time of Henry VIII to save an ancestor in the past and her home in the present. Time travel doesn't begin until nearly halfway through the story, and it is a relief when it does. With the past and the present mingling on a number of levels, it is sometimes hard to tell them apart during the drawn-out prelude to the main action. Merry, as heir to her family's longbow tradition, and James, who wants to play soccer rather than be the lord of the manor, are well-developed characters, but most others are stereotypical, including the vindictive countess and the unethical professor. An interesting setting, both in place and time, helps somewhat to offset a fairly predictable plotline. VERDICT For fans of time travel and strong heroines.-Katherine Koenig, The Ellis School, PA

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