Donna Jo Napoli always amazes me with her ability to immerse readers in the world of her characters. Her descriptions are sharp, vivid, and take up enough space for us to get the whole picture without endangering the flow of the scene. In this tale of the tenth century, we can easily imagine what the life of an Irish princess was like and so it is devastating to the reader to watch princess become slave.

Napoli never writes a "perfect" character, a being without flaw and brimming in virtue. Her protagonist in this story has her faults and character quirks, enough that we may recognize ourselves in her from time to time. What makes her wonderful is her pride, her determination to not let anyone get the better of her, to remember always that she is a princess.

I greatly enjoyed this book and spent the better part of the day on it.