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Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic #1)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 4,213 ratings · 776 reviews

Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separate...more

Hardcover, 344 pages

Published April 15th 2009 by Scholastic Press

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2009 MUST READS: Children's and YA

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Jul 13, 2012 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-damn-dim-candle, the-sparkles-mean-its-magic, you-go-girl, yippie-kay-ai-motherf-cker, read-in-2012, ust-ftw, but-wait-theres-more

So, when Thirteenth Child came out a couple of years ago, it was instantly embroiled in the epic and horrifying RaceFail 2009, and I lit my torch and waved my pitchfork and was adamantly in the Never To Read camp. Because seriously, the implication that it easier to simply write Native Americans out of her speculative America than to have to deal with all the potential Native American Stereotyping Problems… that was a no-no in my book.

And that was depressing. Because Patricia Wrede is like a mag...more

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Jul 14, 2009 Misty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile-ya, ya-challenge, historical, read-in-2009, sci_fi-fantasy, excited-for, cover-appeal, own, favorites

The Thirteenth Child tells the story of Eff Rothmer, a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is a double-seventh child, a position of great magical power and potential. Unfortunately for Eff, the thirteenth child is said to be cursed, hazardous to those around them, and even evil. Eff is terrified that she will one day "go bad" and hurt those around her, so she tries desperately to control her magic, and possibly even rid herself of it. Eff must learn how to become her own person with her own...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Danielle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fantasy, authors-behaving-badly

Read This Review & More Like It At Ageless Pages Reviews

As a long time reader of Patricia Wrede's work, I have to say I was disappointed. There's no humor like the Enchanted Forest Chronicles or the Cecelia and Kate series, but there's also really no spirit of adventure like the Lyra books. Overall, Thirteenth Child is flat and depressing.

I had high hopes for the book. A low/alternate fantasy set not in medieval or Victorian England? Sign me up. Unfortunately, the world building was confusin...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Anne Toronto1 rated it 2 of 5 stars

In a magical alternate Ben Franklin time, Bostonian Helvan Shores place, everyone knows the seventh son of the seventh son is the best of all, and the thirteenth child, the worst, even before age ten, when their magical powers show. Nasty relatives of narrator Eff, and her twin brother Lan, are cruelly certain. In the wild West, Mill City offers Papa, Henry, a university teaching position, with housing.

Despite pleas from elder progeny already moved out, the Rothmer parents lead the younger broo...more In a magical alternate Ben Franklin time, Bostonian Helvan Shores place, everyone knows the seventh son of the seventh son is the best of all, and the thirteenth child, the worst, even before age ten, when their magical powers show. Nasty relatives of narrator Eff, and her twin brother Lan, are cruelly certain. In the wild West, Mill City offers Papa, Henry, a university teaching position, with housing.

Despite pleas from elder progeny already moved out, the Rothmer parents lead the younger brood to fresh territory. Miss Ochiba teaches an extra class in Aphrikan natural sorcery, and her friend, scout Wash brings news of outlying settlements. Anger propels Lan's first magic feat, to hoist stuck-up William Graham above rapids.

Eff fears her temper will explode to endanger others too. But if she suppresses her ability, spells of those around her warp unpredictably. Metallic beetles appear, strange grubs eat crops, everything, even shoe leather off your feet, threatening everyone. Why is Oak River, settled by Rationalists, who do not use magic, the only safe haven?

The overall mood is so negative, I down-rate to 2*, almost 1*. Starting with bullying by cousins, even adult uncles and aunts, readers may identify with Eff-Francine. Her underlying insecurity continues on, despite parental and teacher support. Uncle Earn is villainous. Mr. Harrison, Head of Settlement Office, is the horrible worst of red-tape officialdom. Even bossy elder sister Rennie brings up the adult issue of premarital pregnancy, and sneaks spells to ease housework.

(view spoiler)

Unfortunately none of the humor I loved in author Wrede's Dragon series -- no playful downside-ups of stereotypes from traditional fairy tales (view spoiler), no silly snickers (view spoiler). Hero (girl) re-acts more than acts. The Frontier setup is so intriguing, so full of potential, that I am all the more disappointed overall.

Futzing spelling, such as "Aphrikan" for "African", puzzles me. Is Wrede trying to push an agenda? Is Luddite anti-mechanization involved? I do not plan to read the sequel.(less)

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Feb 09, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, fantasy, historical-fiction

A fun look at what settling the western United States would look like if magic, mammoths, and dragons were involved. Eff, the protagonist and an unlucky thirteenth child, is an utterly charming character, and Wrede has set up a wonderful world for future books that I can't wait to read!

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Jan 12, 2012 Julianna *Juju chocolate bear* rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thirteeth Child Book Review Julianna Kuzniar
Genre: Adventure and Magic
Compelling Literary Element: I think the compelling literary element is the characters because they are just so different from a normal book that you could read.
Special Dialog etc: The first thing thats special to me is when Eff says "Somthing happened to Papa and Lan." Its special to me because I would panic if something happened to one of my family members (page 321.) The second special thing to me is when Eff's mom said "Sh...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Ubalstecha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads, middle-school-girls-ficiton, what-to-read-after-harry-the-teen

Eff Rothmerr is a thirteenth child, according to superstition, doomed to bring bad luck to all those around her. Added to her pain is the fact that her twin, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means the same tradition and superstition that has handed Eff the place of pariah, has handed her brother a place of power and prestige.

EFF and Lan's parents, aware of this contriversy, move their family to the frontier, just behind the great barrier. There Eff is away from the daily taunting o...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Phoebe added it

I was a big, big fan of Patricia Wrede's "dragons" series in middle school, though my memories of those books are vague. I remembered them fondly--as slim, plot-driven, funny, and somewhat feminist tales--so I was eager to revisit her writing in Thirteenth Child.

Too bad, then, that this book is nothing like the quick, addictive reads I remember. Thirteenth Child is less a novel and more a fictional memoir. It's the story of Eff, seventh daughter in a large frontier family, whose twin brother Lan...more I was a big, big fan of Patricia Wrede's "dragons" series in middle school, though my memories of those books are vague. I remembered them fondly--as slim, plot-driven, funny, and somewhat feminist tales--so I was eager to revisit her writing in Thirteenth Child.

Too bad, then, that this book is nothing like the quick, addictive reads I remember. Thirteenth Child is less a novel and more a fictional memoir. It's the story of Eff, seventh daughter in a large frontier family, whose twin brother Lan (as the seventh son of the seventh son) is magically gifted from birth. Unlike Lan, Eff herself has been told that she's been cursed as the thirteenth-born in her family, that her magic will eventually come to poison her and those around her.

But weirdly this pronouncement has little impact on the story generally, if there is one. There really isn't. As Eff grows up, we follow the progress of her family from the east coast to a settlement in the west, where her father is recruited to teach. Eff attends school, makes friends, deals (or doesn't) with her sisters and her sisters' marriages, does chores, catalogs wildlife, and occasionally sulks. She's plenty busy--but a lot of what happens to her just isn't that exciting or engaging. She's largely a passive narrator, reporting back to us the events of her world without really taking an active role in them. I often felt like I was plodding through the chapters--and the years--but I was never really captivated by the plot or the voice.

Regarding the voice, I have to say that, incidentally, Eff's narration never really rang true to me as the voice of an eighteen-year-old. She sounds much, much younger--it's a voice that reminds me more of Scout Finch than anything you'd encounter in most YA. In fact, generally, I felt that this wasn't a young adult novel at all. And while I'd be tempted to call it middle grade thanks to a lack of sexual content, it's not that, either. Eff's voice, though young, is wistful, detached, and nostalgic. This very much felt to me like a novel meant to appeal to adult fantasy and science fiction readers, who might better appreciate Wrede's extensive world building and better tolerate Eff's total lack of compelling romantic relationships.

The world building here certainly is extensive. Wrede's central premise is that this is an alternate Earth where magic exists and some prehistoric creatures never became extinct, and she goes to great pains to show how that might conceivably impact every aspect of frontier life. The magical systems--and there are multiple ones here--are well-developed and believable, and so intertwined with the daily life of the characters that they don't even think to info-dump on us, something a less talented writer might resort to. There are backlash movements, philosophical disagreements, vivid ecologies, and several different methods of magical schooling. There are even historical twists--Benjamin Franklin as an unschooled magical genius!

But Wrede seems so wrapped up in her world that she's really forgotten to give us a worthwhile story. This promises to be a series, but I really can't imagine where we'd go from here, because, in three hundred and forty pages, we really haven't gone anywhere.(less)

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Jun 18, 2009 Monica Edinger added it

I was eager to read this because I'd liked Wrede's other books (the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Cecelia and Kate series) and am always on the lookout for books that create a distinctly American magical world. So I dived in. (6/18/09 see update at end of this review.)

The world building here is thorough. Wrede gives us an alternate American frontier --- one where magic and magicians rather than rifles and John Wayne types keep settlers safe. We get snippets of alternate political history (some...more I was eager to read this because I'd liked Wrede's other books (the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Cecelia and Kate series) and am always on the lookout for books that create a distinctly American magical world. So I dived in. (6/18/09 see update at end of this review.)

The world building here is thorough. Wrede gives us an alternate American frontier --- one where magic and magicians rather than rifles and John Wayne types keep settlers safe. We get snippets of alternate political history (some personages like Thomas Jefferson appear from our history and some are new), social history (education in particular), and natural history (with both magical and actual animals). While dragons are out there it is the small things, say beetles, that turn out to be the most dangerous.

The title character is Eff, terrified by certain relatives that her unlucky family position will be the ruin of them all. She moves along with her twin brother Lan (revered as a seventh son of a seventh son) and most of her very large family to a frontier town where her father is to teach magic in a land grant college. So far so good. But then we are moved along through Eff's life for years --- learning about magic, worrying about what terrible thing she may do, and so on. Even though the book is in Eff's voice, I could never connect to her, despite all that happened and all that she said, I just couldn't get a good sense of her at all. I'm a character driven reader and I think I needed more about her than I got.

I could have used a more driving plot. I picked up and put down the book a number of times and almost quit at one point because nothing significant seemed to happen (at least for me as a reader). Most of the book seemed world building, introduction of many characters and situations that will, I'm guessing, be more important in later books. (This is the first in a series, Frontier Magic.)

(6/18/09 Edited to add currently there is a raging discussion on child_lit in and around Wrede's decision to not include/leave out Native Americans in her story's world, a conversation that I'd already seen elsewhere as well after writing my original review here. I have to admit that, as I read, while I occasionally wondered about this, I just vaguely thought that they'd show up in a future volume. Clearly I didn't pay attention to the fact that the Native Americans just weren't ever in that America. My bad. I see someone else, after reading about this, removed her stars and I'm going to do that too.)(less)

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May 15, 2009 Hallie added it

Shelves: fantasy, ya

(15/5/09) Just took away my rating, because of a very upsetting couple of hours spent reading about this on Tor.com. I've written it up on LJ, but for those who don't feel like bothering to read that, it appears that Wrede erased the Native Americans from the book because she didn't like either of two stereotypes of them, so just got rid of 'the problem' [sic:] by not having any.

Below was my original review:

Again with the indecisiveness about ratings; I'd give the book 5 stars or more for the w...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Pamela Huxtable rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fiction, kid-s

I loved this wonderful reimagining of the American frontier. If I were catty, I would call this Laura Ingalls Goes to Hogwarts. But I don't want to be snarky about this tale. Wrede's fantastical American West is so well thought out and complete, i felt like Alice holding a book up to a mirror and finding all she read taking a peculiar turn. I knew this world Wrede's created, yet it was new and I loved discovering it.

The plot and characters are enjoyable, but the real star if the story is the st...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Poojya B. added it

3/22/13
by Patricia C. Wrede
Science Fiction
pages 344

Thirteenth Child is a book about a girl named Eff who was born as a thirteenth child, and her twin brother Lan, who is the seventh son of a seventh daughter. This means that he's supposed to possess amazing talent and Eff is supposed to bring doom to everyone around her. Discouraged, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school dangerously close to the magical divide that protects settlers from the...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Jean Zavala rated it 5 of 5 stars

The title of the book is called “the thirteenth Child” and the author is named Patricia C. Wrede. The book genre is Fantasy. The book starts out with a 7 year old girl named Eff who’s supposed to be evil and wicked based on a myth involving the 13’Th child. In this myth they say the o holy 12’Th Child is supposed to become an all-powerful Wizard and is destined for good fortune, and grants the whole family good luck, but if a 13’Th child is born it causes enormous bad luck to the family that con...more The title of the book is called “the thirteenth Child” and the author is named Patricia C. Wrede. The book genre is Fantasy. The book starts out with a 7 year old girl named Eff who’s supposed to be evil and wicked based on a myth involving the 13’Th child. In this myth they say the o holy 12’Th Child is supposed to become an all-powerful Wizard and is destined for good fortune, and grants the whole family good luck, but if a 13’Th child is born it causes enormous bad luck to the family that conceived it. Her uncle named Earn is supposed to be the villain in the story, trying to discourage little Eff into thinking she’s an evil witch who wasn’t supposed to live. He goes overboard and calls the police on Eff and tells them to arrest her for something she didn’t do. Her twin brother Lan is supposedly The twelve child and is worshipped by all of his relatives, but he’s best friends with the main character Eff and protects her from Bullies in the book. Later on in the story Eff is forced to move with her parents and siblings to mill city. She finds this as a perfect opportunity to start fresh, and make new friends.
The setting in the story is in the past time because in the book it tells you that they live in a farm and in a small town, and there aren’t many places with farms as a settlement. They also still have horses and carriages’. This proves my point. They say they’re going to take a train to mill city, but not many places have rail lines anymore. In that time period it’s used for transport and it looks like it was the only long distance vehicles around there. The way the characters speak shows an old western style that cow boys used in the early 1900’s century, this is what told me that this story has happened in the past. The setting is kind of the same with ours with humans still controlling the planet, and us still being the superior beings but the difference is in this universe people can use magic in regular occasions, and the wildlife contains Dragons and monsters. The author doesn’t make you feel like you’re in the book but makes up with an incredible 3’rd Person view of Eff the main character and I liked the way the author designed it. If I closed my eyes I can see a deserted area with small farms and farmers preparing the crops for winter. People seem to have old fashion clothes and western accents. The sky is always blue and shining. The children there are playing with each other, but Eff is all alone sitting on her patio, but wait the setting is changing! You can now see Trees, Bamboo built houses, and kids smiling and laughing. With these kids is Eff having fun running around in the town square.
The writer makes the characters with their own unique personality and characteristics. Each person is different. For example Eff is a small shy girl who loves to learn and her brother Lan is a brave and caring character who cares a lot about Eff. Then there’s uncle Earn. He’s ignorant, and closeminded. When he went to their house he came with an absurd reason. He repeatedly said “She’s put a curse on my home” to the family and the police. Which I find pretty pathetic! This guy has no common sense at all! He only relays on myths and legends and not on solid facts. He starts talking to Eff’s father and says “You’re mad, Uncle Earn said dismissively. Daniel, I did not come here to be lectured by your wife”. This Guy has no respect for other at all. This guy isn’t even likable he has to be the worst character in the story in my opinion. Her Father is a well-respected agriculture magician. He’s so wise that he was offered a job in a faraway college. This man shows so much compassion for his children that his own brothers highly respect him. With the incident involving uncle earn He defends them by saying “If I hear one more word about Eff or Lan from you, or Janna(Uncle Earns wife) or one of your precise children, I’ll put a curse on your house myself, Brother or no”, and this why I like this character; He’s bold and courageous!
In this situation Eff is misjudged of doing something wrong. Uncle Earn called the police on her and her parents. When the police arrived Uncle Earn told them to arrest her for casting a spell on his house. Lan steps in the way and disrupts Uncle Earn. He tells everyone they were together all last weekend and she couldn’t have cursed his house. This made Uncle Earn look like a liar. This shows that there is always someone there to help you out in the deepest situations. This relates to me because when I got in trouble at my dad’s friend’s house for being blamed for dropping a plate on the floor. The man was being very aggressive against me. My family was the first to defend me, it shows that my family cares and they’re there whenever I need them. Another good example is when Eff’s father tells Eff that “he can see plain enough that an angel straight from heaven itself would grow up crooked if she was watched and chivvied and is told every morning and every night that she was sure to turn evil”. This metaphor is used to express that even the purest person is able to become corrupted if it’s encouraged. In Several movies that I’ve seen the secondary character gets overwhelmed with power and becomes corrupted.
The book was perfectly planned and organized. The way the plot was handling was interesting I was hypnotized to reading to the next several pages. In several parts it was kind of plain and dull, but it was overpowered by the great details the author gave in every scenario that was occurring. It made you feel like you were with Eff and reading her mind. I liked the way this small little girl was shy and had low self-esteem and started to deflower into something much more then what was expected. She slowly started to allow others to take a peek of her true self and it was very beautiful. I’m hoping there are more books with the same concept for me to enjoy.
(less)

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Jan 18, 2013 jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: quirky-family, young-adult

I really loved Patricia C. Wrede's Dragon Chronicles when I was little, so when I heard about this I figured I should give it a try. Cute, fast paced, interesting setting. I don't read much in either the fantasy or western genres, but I enjoyed this melding of the two; apparently fantasy/Old West settings are a sub-genre of sorts. It's pretty much Little House on the Prairie with magic. I liked the family dynamics and felt Eff, the titular thirteenth child, was a relatable narrator. There's some...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy

This clever fantasy takes place in an alternate version of the American frontier, but one where magic works. The author makes no attempt to explain the alternate world, although details creep in. South "Columbia" has colonies that came across from Africa. The Lewis & Clarke expedition failed, and was presumed dead. There is no mention of native cultures in what we think of as North America, but there are creatures, both prehistoric and magical, by our standards, ranging from mammoths and woo...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Victoria marked it as did-not-finish

At this point, I've decided not to read this book.

I've looked forward to reading this trilogy, but discovering the whole RaceFail/MammothFail 2009 debacle (via a link in another GR review) has made me reconsider whether I'll enjoy these books.

In summary: I'm troubled by Wrede's decision to exclude Native peoples from this version of alternate history, and flatly disgusted with her rationale for doing so.

I've accumulated a few links here for those who'd like to know more, as well as for my own fu...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Cora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fantasy

I really enjoyed reading the Thirteenth Child. It is a fanstasy novel set in an alternative America (called Columbia) during western expansion where magic and magical creatures are a part of everyday life, especially on the frontier. The story is about a young girl named Eff who happens to be born a thirteenth child. Many believe that a thirteenth child is bad luck and destined to turn to evil. Her twin brother, Lan, is born the seventh son of a seventh son - a child that will be an extremely st...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Allison Barash rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was one of those "can't put down" books. It started off as a story of a magical family with Eff - the 13th child and therefore "unlucky." The story was set in a "country" where magic was normal and these people were working on ways to settle further out west using magic to protect them. It sounded like a parallel to US history - until they started referencing specific US states and cities! When they started referring to the "magic" that had been done by Jefferson and Ben Franklin...I had a...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Samma Lynne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-high, ya

Thirteenth Child opens on the presence of the extreme importance of numbers. A seventh son is naturally talented at magic, a valuable and well-learned commodity in this world, and a seventh son of a seventh son is a natural magician full of magic. A thirteenth child, however, is unlucky and the harbinger of misfortune. The heroine of our tale is a thirteenth child, and her twin brother is a double-seven son. Living in a time akin to our Wild West, Thirteenth Child is like Little House on the Pra...more Thirteenth Child opens on the presence of the extreme importance of numbers. A seventh son is naturally talented at magic, a valuable and well-learned commodity in this world, and a seventh son of a seventh son is a natural magician full of magic. A thirteenth child, however, is unlucky and the harbinger of misfortune. The heroine of our tale is a thirteenth child, and her twin brother is a double-seven son. Living in a time akin to our Wild West, Thirteenth Child is like Little House on the Prairie meets Harry Potter. The system of magic presented in this novel is a refreshing spin on the topic, and its starkness makes it very believable – as far as magic goes. The theories all made sense, and I love following along with magical theory. There are three listed schools of magic, and the origin of each is easily inferred from its name. While the three types border on stereotypical, they remain strong foundations.

The novel has a great premise, and Wrede has a fantastic style of writing that keeps everything fresh. She has a lyrical lilt to her narrative, and it luckily translated well into the first-person view of our heroine Eff. Her words are a true joy to read, and her setting and ideas keep you thinking even after you’ve put the book away.

Unfortunately, sometimes her premises are stronger than her actual plot. This first book reads like a summarized Cliffnotes of a much longer epic. We spend more than ten years with Eff, at times plodding slowly through a day, at other times passing by years in a blur. Her land is at once the same and so different from our own – her United States is that of Columbia, and while some landmarks and cities remain the same, there are many new ones and a whole new history to learn. I’m not sure if a few more quick history lessons here and there would hinder the already jumpy narrative more or give us more insight to truly appreciate the world she has created. I wanted to spend much more time with Eff growing up, or just spend more time with teenage Eff and gotten smaller glimpses of her past. I’m not sure which I want more.

I have started reading the second book in the series, Across the Great Barrier, and I do really like the change to covering less time. It’s still a little jumpy, but it covers months instead of years now. The path that Eff takes is one I love and each little choice she makes and phrase she spins makes her an infinitely more interesting character to me. The characters in this novel are not ones to miss, and I find myself missing them when I’ve put the book down. Eff is free-spirited and has her rough spots, which makes her sympathetic but not pathetic. Her twin brother Lan is proud and unpredictable and a great characterization of a spoiled child. Her best friend William begins as insufferable and then becomes a companion I wished to have in my own life.

If only to get you into the smoother second (and hopefully third) book or if only for the amazing premise and characters, give this book a try. Wrede is a great creator of the magical and fantastical, and does not disappoint with this series.(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Ryk Spoor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-ya

This was a really excellent book. I wish I could choose half-stars, because I'd like to reserve five stars for truly extraordinary books, but I think this deserves more than just four. I'd really like four-and-a-half available.

First-person protagonist "Eff" (her first initial; her actual name is hardly ever mentioned in the book) is the eponymous Thirteenth Child, one supposedly born with cursed magic and destined to go bad according to many in her society. Her plight is made worse by the fact t...more

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May 24, 2012 Beth Wood rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, fantasy

This book, the first in a series, is an alternate history of a United States in the frontier days, in which magic is an integral part of life. Eff, the main character, is the thirteenth child in her family and is considered by her relatives to be unlucky. To make matters worse, her twin brother Lan is the seventh son of a seventh son - a boy destined to be a great magician. Partly because of how Eff is treated, her father decides to accept a position at the edge of the frontier and moves the you...more

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May 22, 2012 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, middle-grades, feel-good-fantasy

This MG/YA coming of age fantasy novel is a sweet coming-of-age story of twins Eff and Lan, whose superstitious society wants to brand them as destined to be an evil thirteenth child (Eff) and a lucky, magical, seventh son of a seventh son (Lan). I find the objections to the lack of Native Americans in a story set in an American-ish frontier setting populated by magical monsters to be a bit odd, actually. Patricia Wrede is by no means attempting to write a serious alternative history of the Amer...more

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May 11, 2012 Barbara Gordon rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Thirteenth Child, by Patricia Wrede, is an alt-hist YA set in a North American frontier where the continent was never settled before the 'Avrupan' arrival. There are Aphrikans and Hijero-Cathayans, but 'Columbia' only has megafauna both magic and natural. The labour deficit is made up for by magic, which is a fairly common talent and studied in school.
The protagonist is Eff (for Francine) the twin sister of a seventh son of a seventh son, and herself a thirteenth child. She's afraid that she...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Melani rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: over-rated, ya-fantasy, historical-fiction

I really would have enjoyed this book except for the huge giant elephant in the middle of the room. Eff is an enjoyable narrator, the plot is mostly internal realizations but still good. The actual action of the book is a little too timeline for it to be really enjoyable but as a slice of life type thing it works.

However, the giant elephant. This book is set in an alternate universe United States where the Native Americans didn't exist. And so in order to get that frontier feel, the 'New World'...more

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Mar 06, 2012 IndyPL Kids Book Blog rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction

Eff and her family live in the American frontier during pioneer times. But this isn’t your regular frontier story - in this story the pioneers have magical skills! What Columbus discovered in the New World is a dangerous place where dragons and mammoths and bears live. (As if grizzly bears aren’t bad enough, throw in some prehistoric creatures and some magical beasts!) The settlers have used their magic to set up a magical barrier - an invisible force field - to keep the dangerous animals away f...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Caterina rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: done-reviewed

NUTSHELL: Oh, no, she di-in't. 1, and not just for the racefail.

I hope you didn't buy this one. Nope. Borrowed it. Didn't even hold it for fifty cents, just... took it out and returned it on time.

Did you finish it? Yes, though that was an uphill battle. Wrede typically reads better than this. Her Kim, from the Magician's Ward books, had much more chutzpah; I also enjoyed (view spoiler). Eff, unfortunately, goes from five to eighteen without mu...more

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Jan 18, 2012 mauvemagnolia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, alternate-history

I really enjoyed this read, but there were a few things that bugged me (side note: these are all personal preference notes and not actual critical literary notes). First off, I'm not the biggest fan of books that span over a decade. I'm alright with flashbacks and such but really, I'd rather know what's going on in the main plot rather than slog through 2/3 of a book of back story. Granted, the story was interesting and not entirely 'back-story' as it were, but still it took an awfully long time...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Yune rated it 3 of 5 stars

I avoided this book for a time because of the problematic milieu -- the settling the Wild West sans Native Americans, but rather with wild magical beasties to contend with.

I finally gave it a go, and I'm a little sad because I loved the voice of the narrator: Eff, the titular thirteenth child, who is considered to be unlucky because of it. Her family decides to move out West to get her away from these prejudiced folks, and she slowly begins to grow in confidence, even though she'll never be a st...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Abigail rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first fantasy book I have read set in the Wild West (or the edges of it, anyway), so that was unique. However, there isn't much "story." We get to know Eff, her family, friends, and environs as she relates incidents throughout her life as she grows up, but otherwise not much happens--well, it's not so much that things don't happen as that they tend to be told, not shown. As for adventure, only a little happens and at the end.

I liked the world-building, though I think the book would...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Dimity rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, chillruns-books, fantasy-sci-fi, historic-fiction, immigration-migration-refugees, other-worlds, read-women-fiction, reading-women-2011, reviewed, series, witchy-women

Growing up, I was an avid (even rabid) fan of Patricia C. Wrede’s The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. My sister and I read the four books in that series probably more times than I can count. I was in the mood for some light hearted fiction so I decided to grab some more of Wrede’s books that were written after my YA days. I have to say, this book was a good diversion but didn’t quite live up to my high expectations of this author.

The book’s heroine is Eff, a twin born to an almost Duggar sized mag...more Growing up, I was an avid (even rabid) fan of Patricia C. Wrede’s The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. My sister and I read the four books in that series probably more times than I can count. I was in the mood for some light hearted fiction so I decided to grab some more of Wrede’s books that were written after my YA days. I have to say, this book was a good diversion but didn’t quite live up to my high expectations of this author.

The book’s heroine is Eff, a twin born to an almost Duggar sized magical family living in a parallel United States in the late nineteenth century. She had the bad luck to be the thirteenth child and her extended family’s harassment of her for this unlucky fact is matched only in their pride and encouragement of her twin, Lan, the doubly good fortunate seventh son of a seventh son. Eff’s parents decide to move the family out west to the east banks of the Mammoth River (Mississippi in our universe) when her father gets the opportunity to teach at a newly founded land grant college. The town they settle in is pretty much the last outpost in civilization. Although some brave pioneers have eked out a living west of the Mammoth, it is a perilous life as prehistoric beasts and magical creatures roam free. Eff grows into her adolescence in this new land anxious that her secret status as an unlucky thirteenth child will be revealed.

Eff annoyed me through most of the book. She is so insecure and wishy-washy, unlike the awesome female characters in The Enchanted Forest Chronicless. Eff’s angst at the prospect of being discovered as a thirteenth child is probably a pretty accurate portrayal of many girls who feel abnormal for a variety of reasons (trivial or not), but it didn’t make for exciting reading. The slow buildup in this plot makes it obvious it was planned to be the first installation in a series, which I guess is reasonable for an author who writes mainly series. However, I think the character development was so muted, it didn’t make me want to run out and immediately read the next book in the series.

I loved the parallel magical universe set up. But there was one disturbing parallel missing in this book; the hard work of frontier life is the same, the land grant system is awesomely and accurately described, the Civil War’s aftermath and resulting racial tension loam large, but there’s no mention of Indians or any other indigenous human population. The land west of the Mammoth is as conveniently unpopulated as Andrew Jackson’s wet dreams. To me, it seems more conceivable in Wrede’s alter-United States that slavery never existed in a world where all individuals have access to magic. Not including Native Americans in this book seems like a cop out on her part; it would have been difficult but not impossible. There are other books in this series that I expect I will eventually read and I hope that Wrede has a plan for incorporating Indians into her otherwise engaging and enjoyable narrative.
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About Patricia C. Wrede

Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se...more Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her second book at once, having become permanently hooked on writing by this time.

Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.

Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).

In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.

Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cats, Merlin, Brisen, and Nimue. She has no children, but as of this writing, she does have four nieces and four nephews ranging in age from seven months to twelve years old and in geographical location from Maine to Alabama.
She has published twelve and a half books:
Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, The Seven Towers, Talking to Dragons, The Harp of Imach Thyssel, Caught in Crystal, Snow White and Rose Red, Dealing with Dragons, Mairelon the Magician, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, The Raven Ring, and a collaboration with fellow Minneapolis author Caroline Stevermer, Sorcery and Cecelia, as well as a collection of short stories titled Book of Enchantments. She is also part of the Liavek shared-world anthology. (less)

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Books by Patricia C. Wrede

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1)

Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #2)

Calling on Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #3)

Talking to Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #4)

Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)

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“That is certainly one way to look at the matter. There are others.” — 25 people liked it

“This is the most important lesson you must learn about magic," Miss Ochiba went on. "There are many ways of seeing. Each has an element of truth, but none is the whole truth. If you limit yourselves to one way of seeing, one truth, you will limit your power. You will also place limits on the kinds of spells you can cast, as well as their strength. To be a good magician, you must see in many ways. You must be flexible. You must be willing to learn from different sources. And you must always remember that the truths you see are incomplete.” — 11 people liked it

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Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic #1)

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