The Princess Pawn. Maggie L. Wood. Toronto, ON: Sumach Press, 2003. 299 pp., pbk., $10.95. ISBN 1-894549-29-5. Grades 6-9 / Ages 11-14. Review by Joan Marshall. *** /4

excerpt:

Willow shrieked a terrible gut-wrenching scream, finally tearing her hands from the hot marble and Lachlan's heavy grasp. Her eyes flew open. She was shaking uncontrollably, her breath coming in great gasping heaves.

But the magic.

She could feel it! It was flowing through her blood, hot and dizzying, like an ocean of mage-brewed wine.

"Well done, Princess. Well done,' said Lachlan, smiling broadly. Sweat glistened on his forehead. "Never before have I seen such a surge of power."

"Is she well?" Queen Morwenna was at his side, white-faced and peering at Willow.

"For one who has just tethered in a surge of power the size of the Valandrean Mountains, Your Majesty, I would say she's doing just fine."

Willow Kingswell is your typical grade 9 student, struggling to figure out who she wants to be friends with. At home, she worries about her aging Nana, her sole family, as her grandmother seems to be at the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. On the night that Nana dies, Willow is so distraught that she touches an old crystal, claps her beloved laptop computer and wishes she were in Mistolear, the land of Nana's fairy tale stories. In Mistolear, Willow is a Gallandrian princess with magical powers playing a part in a cosmic chess game for control of the universe. Acting as a white pawn, she must travel to the back row of the game (the country of Keldoran) and defeat the elf Nezeral whose immense power is keeping the chess game alive. Unable to battle Nezeral, she changes him into a baby so he will have a second chance to become a better person. Using her laptop computer from Earth, she saves the chess game and then shuts down the computer thus ending the game and restoring magical powers to both kingdoms (Gallandra and Keldoran), neither of which really wanted to be at war in the first place. As Mistolear is Willow's true home, she stays there, thankful for her Earth upbringing, but now committed to her real family in the fantasy world.

     Willow is a strong character with a sardonic, sharp sense of humour. She learns the lesson of caring for people no matter what their station in life. She copes with the death of her Nana (who is really her nurse from Mistolear). She meets her mother and finds the strength to manipulate the evil forces without violence. Brand Lackwulf, a squire who pledges his oath of fealty to Willow, Malvin Weedellwynd, a mage apprentice, and Gemma, a baker's servant, are lively characters who accompany Willow on her journey. Varian, the brother of the King of Gallandra, schemes to defeat his brother by provoking war with the Keldorians. Nezeral, the elf prince, Willow's other enemy, is merely toying with them all, creating a game for the amusement of the immortal elves who are bored with life.

     The setting of this fantasy is typical fairy tale with huge, draughty castles, banquet halls, beautiful clothing and a King Arthur atmosphere of lords and ladies, and their faithful knights, mages and servants. Travel is by horseback; food is medieval.

     The plot of this fantasy is very complicated and rests on at least a rudimentary knowledge of chess. Students who play chess will be enchanted with the possibilities and will be one step ahead of the action. Although it would be possible to read this novel without knowing chess, the impact would be much less significant, perhaps even puzzling.

     The theme of creating order from chaos by thinking through the problem instead of battling your way through it, clearly a feminist theme, rings true. Here is the usual fairy tale turned on its head, with the princess leading and saving the day.

     What really saves this fantasy, though, is Willow's voice, at once very amusing and also very true to her age. This is true even although she continues to speak like an Earthling from 2003, and no one in Mistolear comments on this: ("Hey, wait a minute," she called out. "Don't put that globe thing away yet. I want to try something first. Oh, c'mon, Brand...It'll just take a sec.") The inhabitants of Mistolear speak a medieval English that becomes a little grating (too many 'twas, 'twould and mayhaps). The elves speak with an articulate, sophisticated voice suitable to their upper realm identity.

     The beautiful Willow as Gallandrian princess, and the hurtful students on Earth who bully Willow's friend, Abby, grace the cover of this book and will attract younger readers in middle school. Whether or not they will be able to sustain interest in this complicated fantasy will depend on their knowledge of chess and their interest in traditional fairy tales.

Highly Recommended.

Joan Marshall is the teacher-librarian at Fort Richmond Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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