Janet McNaughton

This historical young adult novel is one Tam Lin retelling that I couldn’t find when I was reading all the other Tam Lin retellings. It’s set in Scotland in 1162 and is about the sixteen year old daughter of a Norman nobleman. Jenny has always been given a lot of freedom but with her older sister Isabel in disgrace, having run away with a knight, it is decided that it is time to find Jenny a suitor.

I really liked all the details about medieval life. I was particularly interested in how the family and the church deal with Isabel, and Jenny’s experiences being courted by the king’s brother. I also liked the bond Jenny has with her siblings, the descriptions of Jenny riding in the forest and the realisations Jenny has about how her behaviour affects others.

But -- and maybe this shouldn’t be surprising after the tenor of my recent reviews -- I was not a fan of the romance. Frustratingly undeveloped. Although to be fair to Tam Lin, he’s miles better than Jenny’s royal suitor, and to be fair to Jenny, she is only sixteen. But still.

Not my favourite Tam Lin and not my favourite Tam Lin retelling.

Here, Jenny slowed La Rose down to a safer trot, for the roots of the great trees made dangerous traps for a horse on the forest roads. Jenny caught her breath as she looked up. Huge oak and ash trees towered so high, Jenny often felt as if she were at the bottom of a great, green sea. But now, these giant trees were just beginning to show their leaves. Bluebells flooded the forest floor, and the smaller trees that would go unnoticed in the summer were having their moment of glory. Hawthorne and cheery flowers blazed white in the sunlight that streamed through the mostly bare boughs of the larger trees.… (more)

Hm. Just didn't work for me as well as for my GR friends. I think I would have appreciated it if it had been actually more original, if it had diverged more from the classic story(s) upon which it's based. Either it's a tale from Newfoundland, or it's not - I kept feeling dissonance. Nor were the pictures quite to my taste, something about the texture, esp. of the skin, didn't suit me. But the progression of the thematic elements, the language, the way it all worked out, were fine. I'm glad I finally got a chance to read this, but relieved I didn't spend money on it.… (more)