Emily's House, a Brief Review ... and an Update on Snoopy's Brother Spike
Book Review of Emily's House (Akasha Chronicles, Book #1) by Natalie Wright
Photo: Boadicea Press
The vast border betwixt a contemporary American Southwest and an ancient, Celtic Ireland is as foggy and hazy as a seaside, Sligo morning; yet this chasm is bridged brilliantly and smoothly enough to ease the reader hither and thither, back and forth, between said realms.
Natalie Wright has divined in Emily's House a simultaneous modern and ancient fairy tale of the greatest kind: sans parents, sans immediate consequence, sans cowardice. Bravery is said to be not the lack of fear, but action in the face of it. Like the best of Grimm, Perrault and Charles Schulz, Ms. Wright's kids find themselves amidst adventure, terror and turmoil, as well as ineffective and/or absent parental units. By their own bootstraps they must find help themselves to find their way home, to save not only each other, but perchance an entire civilization. "Adults drool, kids rule" is the motto for any well-written young adult or children's tale. Natalie's kids indeed rule.
This one will last, alongside Grimm, Perrault and Schulz, in the coffers of timeless, fantasy literature. Plus, there's Hindergog and no one could not love Hindergog! Well done, Ms. Wright. Well done, indeed.
The wall Emily and pals scale to seek the golden band of the Order of Brighid
Best of all, Emily's House, chock full of the Irish tongue, offers a fantastic glossary and pronunciation guide. Who knew there was a difference betwixt ban sídhe and sídhe? Plus, now I know how to say Cathair without saying cat-hair. Look at me! Adding Irish to my list of languages!
Miss Wright is currently living somewhere near Tuscon, AZ with Spike, Snoopy's desert-dwelling beagle brother. They have taken up residence in a rock cave rumoured to have once been an ancient Anazazi compound and Spike works as her assistant. She is holed up, literally, working diligently, editing her second book The Deep Beneath: Book I of the H.A.L.F. Trilogy. Her husband says she may return home as soon as she can produce a final edit.
Want to learn a bit more about the Celtic Queen of the American Southwest (keep that sunscreen handy, Freckles!)? Subscribe to her blog: Natalie Wright's YA.
