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.

Listeners follow Merry, the longbow girl, one of the best archers in her town. When she finds a magical portal in the forest that takes her back to sixteenth-century Wales, she must use her skills to win an archery contest in order to help her ancestors keep their land. While narrator Emily Wilden brings protagonist Merry to life with a rich Welsh accent, her narration seems uneven at times. All the period characters have accents that reflect the setting of the story and transport listeners to Wales. Listeners who enjoy historical fiction and a bit of fantasy will be charmed by this tale of determination, hope, and family. M.D. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine