The Beholder

April 1, 2019
A naïve young noblewoman sails from the New World into several European fairy tales. Selah has spent her sheltered life as the heiress to Potomac, a small territory in an alternate-timeline America, reading fairy tales and chastely longing for Peter, a childhood friend, oblivious to the political intrigues that surround her. But when Peter refuses her proposal, her conniving stepmother sends her on a sudden mission to Europe to court more politically useful romantic connections. Selah boards the Beholder armed with a book of fairy tales and the blessings of her godmother, a nun--and soon encounters Arthurian legend, Nordic mythology, Baba Yaga, and other fairy-tale motifs aplenty. An array of charming princes provide swooningly romantic moments, and Selah's attraction to multiple boys is written as normal, not shameful. Selah is white, and Peter and many secondary characters are racially diverse, but the book's idealized multiculturalism is severely undercut by erasure of the Indigenous population in Potomac, an oversight that makes Selah's criticism of other land-hungry empires ring hollow. Winking nods to various tales and their tellers--Selah's entourage includes Homer, Perrault, Yasumaro, and Lang, to name a few--are sometimes twee but always entertaining. Selah is at first tiresomely naïve and sugar-sweet but begins to rise into maturity and complexity that, the cliffhanger ending suggests, will be explored more thoroughly in a sequel. A selection box of candy-sweet fairy-tale tropes. (Fantasy. 12-18)

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Emily Rankin provides an exquisite performance of this alternate- history fantasy peppered with fairy tales. To secure the future of her people, Selah must find the right suitor, but her scheming stepmother has her own plans and sends Selah on a journey across an ocean to find one. Several chapters begin with a quote from a popular fairy tale in its original language, and Rankin's delivery of multiple languages is immaculate. Rankin uses a full vocal range of high to low tones, varying levels of hoarseness, and multiple accents to capture a wide cast of characters and different love interests. Her voice adds an irresistible chemistry that will leave listeners wanting more. A must-listen. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine