Lion Heart

March 1, 2015
This third and concluding volume in Gaughen's retelling of the Robin Hood legend from Marian's point of view finds Marian (aka Scarlet) facing execution after months of imprisonment by evil Prince John.She escapes and meets with her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who asks for her help raising ransom to bring King Richard home, though what Marian longs to do is reunite with her beloved Robin-even though that may put Robin in danger. After Marian saves Eleanor from an ambush, she meets up with Robin in Nottingham. Through a twist of fate, she's now a powerful lady whose swift rise in status (granted by her father, King Richard) gives her holdings in Nottingham and the social standing to defy Prince John's cruelty-though she still needs her street-fighting skills to fend off occasional assassins. The plot moves briskly, with an even mix of heart-fluttering love scenes and gritty fight sequences. Following in the tradition of Tamora Pierce's stories of feisty, kickass heroines and drawing on some factual underpinnings (explained in an engaging author's note), Gaughen's tale will satisfy teen readers seeking action-packed romantic adventure set alluringly in another age.Fans of Scarlet will celebrate both this opportunity to revisit Gaughen's colorfully depicted long-ago world and her suspenseful ending to a lively story. (Historical fiction. 13-18)

April 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-In this finale to the "Scarlet" trilogy (Bloomsbury), Marian (aka Scarlet), imprisoned for months by her ruthless uncle Prince John, dares to escape, only to learn that her father's life is in jeopardy. Her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, asks her to serve as her knife-wielding spy in order to bring King Richard home safely, but Scarlet, now the recently titled Lady Huntingdon, decides that she must return to Nottinghamshire to face her fate and reunite with her true love, Robin Hood. As with Scarlet (2012) and Lady Thief (2014), this volume is replete with action and romance, each chapter adding just enough tension to continually engage teens. Scarlet once again emerges as a complex, well-developed protagonist, while Rob, Eleanor, and David (her knight protector) are quite well-rounded secondary characters. The action is fast-moving, the dialogue realistic, and the historical details accurately portrayed. While Gaughen admits to having tampered with King Richard's time line in the author's note, she clearly explains how the tale's events and personages fit into their historical context. Potentially difficult vocabulary is elucidated within the prose, and the subplots are masterfully interwoven with the action of the principal story. VERDICT An must-read series conclusion, sure to spark interest in the life and times of Richard the Lionhearted.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.