What do you think?
Rate this book
Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood
Brown Hannah transforms herself into a different person throughout her long journey through different lands, becoming Golden Hannah when she communicates with animals and Green Hannah when she is captured by a magician.
241 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2001
12 people are currently reading
1198 people want to read
About the author
Meredith Ann Pierce
19 books641 followersMeredith Ann Pierce is a fantasy writer and librarian. Her books deal in fantasy worlds with mythic settings and yet overturn standard expectations, frequently featuring young women who first wish only to love and be loved, yet who must face hazard and danger to save their way of life, their world, and so on, usually without being respected for their efforts until the end of the story.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
December 7, 2017
Hannah lives in a little cottage deep in the Tanglewood with her animal friends. As far as she knows she has always been here. She sees families when she goes to the village to trade her medicines for food, but she can’t remember ever being part of a family herself. All the companionship she needs is the dear little creatures who live and converse with her.
Then there’s her monthly appointment, which she always finds disagreeable. The Sorcerer, who lives in another part of the wood, demands an audience with her.
Hannah has a peculiarity. Plants—healing medicinal flowers—grow from her scalp along with her hair. The Sorcerer claims that a certain combination of her plants can give eternal life, so every month he plucks them from her and brews them in a tea for himself. Hannah hates the man, as much as a sweet soul like her is capable of hatred, but reasons she can bear the situation if she only has to see him once a month.
Things have been this way as long as she can remember.
The only interesting thing in Hannah’s life are the knights who come riding through the wood every now and again. They’re all looking for something, and none of them return.
But one of these knights gets injured, and Hannah brings the young man to her cottage to heal him. He has glossy black hair and a blinding, perfect smile, but no name that he can remember. So she names him Fox-kith, because even she who has never spent any real time with a guy can tell that he’s foxy.
Fox-kith quickly falls for the gentle and otherworldly girl, and insists on accompanying her to her next appointment. But the Sorcerer flies into a jealous rage when he sees the boy and transforms him into the black fox he resembles.
This is the last straw for Hannah. She, Fox Fox-kith, and the other critters make a run for their lives—out of the Tanglewood and into the wide world beyond.
While he was human, Fox-kith spoke of the Queen of his country. She is a powerful and benevolent mage, who yearns for something precious that was stolen from her long ago. Hopefully she can restore the loyal knight to his true form.
Somewhere, in these rolling hills and blond wheat fields, these dusty roads and humble villages, these rocky coasts and the salt sea, there must be an answer.
Pierce’s prose is gorgeous, rich and sensory and arcane, and it infuses what might have turned into a Disney princess parody with genuine mystery and substance. It’s a unique take on the myth of Demeter, Hades, and Persephone, removing the romantic/sexual element between the latter two archetypes and refocusing the story on the grieiving mother and lost daughter.
Not that there isn’t romance! Foxy Laddie and Hannah have insta-love, but in this ancient, mythological context, it actually works—and their interactions aren’t that lovey-dovey for most of the book, given that he spends the majority of the novel as a fox.
The whole thing feels authentically old and pagan—and I mean that in a good way.
The violence is minor and sorcerous in nature. There’s no sexual content, cussing, or modern issues of substance abuse or disturbed psychology. It also has an expansive vocabulary, has educational value as a modern and somewhat altered retelling of a Greek myth, and features a lot of crowd-pleasing elements like cute animals. A fine addition to your middle school or high school library collection. I read it in about a day.
Then there’s her monthly appointment, which she always finds disagreeable. The Sorcerer, who lives in another part of the wood, demands an audience with her.
Hannah has a peculiarity. Plants—healing medicinal flowers—grow from her scalp along with her hair. The Sorcerer claims that a certain combination of her plants can give eternal life, so every month he plucks them from her and brews them in a tea for himself. Hannah hates the man, as much as a sweet soul like her is capable of hatred, but reasons she can bear the situation if she only has to see him once a month.
Things have been this way as long as she can remember.
The only interesting thing in Hannah’s life are the knights who come riding through the wood every now and again. They’re all looking for something, and none of them return.
But one of these knights gets injured, and Hannah brings the young man to her cottage to heal him. He has glossy black hair and a blinding, perfect smile, but no name that he can remember. So she names him Fox-kith, because even she who has never spent any real time with a guy can tell that he’s foxy.
Fox-kith quickly falls for the gentle and otherworldly girl, and insists on accompanying her to her next appointment. But the Sorcerer flies into a jealous rage when he sees the boy and transforms him into the black fox he resembles.
This is the last straw for Hannah. She, Fox Fox-kith, and the other critters make a run for their lives—out of the Tanglewood and into the wide world beyond.
While he was human, Fox-kith spoke of the Queen of his country. She is a powerful and benevolent mage, who yearns for something precious that was stolen from her long ago. Hopefully she can restore the loyal knight to his true form.
Somewhere, in these rolling hills and blond wheat fields, these dusty roads and humble villages, these rocky coasts and the salt sea, there must be an answer.
Pierce’s prose is gorgeous, rich and sensory and arcane, and it infuses what might have turned into a Disney princess parody with genuine mystery and substance. It’s a unique take on the myth of Demeter, Hades, and Persephone, removing the romantic/sexual element between the latter two archetypes and refocusing the story on the grieiving mother and lost daughter.
Not that there isn’t romance! Foxy Laddie and Hannah have insta-love, but in this ancient, mythological context, it actually works—and their interactions aren’t that lovey-dovey for most of the book, given that he spends the majority of the novel as a fox.
The whole thing feels authentically old and pagan—and I mean that in a good way.
The violence is minor and sorcerous in nature. There’s no sexual content, cussing, or modern issues of substance abuse or disturbed psychology. It also has an expansive vocabulary, has educational value as a modern and somewhat altered retelling of a Greek myth, and features a lot of crowd-pleasing elements like cute animals. A fine addition to your middle school or high school library collection. I read it in about a day.
December 31, 2020
“No treasure worth dying for awaits you at the heart of the Wood.”
It often seems the more I like a book the harder it becomes to put it into words. Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood is no exception. It is beautifully written with magic flowing out of each and every page. Hannah speaks with enchanted animals, soars over lands and gazes into the universe - a spellbinding tale that embodies all I love about fantasy.
February 28, 2021
3.5 stars
July 25, 2012
An ageless girl named Brown Hannah speaks to wild animals, but neither
she nor they can remember anything of their past. She lives in
Tanglewood, in thrall to a wizard who forces her to pluck the flowers
that bloom in her hair and brew them into a tea that he drinks to
increase his powers. When she falls in love with one of the many
enchanted knights who come questing to Tanglewood, she defies the
wizard and goes on a quest seek out the mystery of his past. But as
she changes with the seasons and the barren earth blossoms wherever
she steps, she finds that the greatest wonder and mystery of all is
her own self.
An unusual, gorgeously written novel, suffused with a dreamlike,
fairy-tale beauty. Unfortunately, it's so dreamlike that the characters don't feel quite real, and the true identity of Brown Hannah and the mysterious treasure of Tanglewood are quite obvious.
I wonder what Pierce is doing nowadays. She hasn't published anything in quite a while.
she nor they can remember anything of their past. She lives in
Tanglewood, in thrall to a wizard who forces her to pluck the flowers
that bloom in her hair and brew them into a tea that he drinks to
increase his powers. When she falls in love with one of the many
enchanted knights who come questing to Tanglewood, she defies the
wizard and goes on a quest seek out the mystery of his past. But as
she changes with the seasons and the barren earth blossoms wherever
she steps, she finds that the greatest wonder and mystery of all is
her own self.
An unusual, gorgeously written novel, suffused with a dreamlike,
fairy-tale beauty. Unfortunately, it's so dreamlike that the characters don't feel quite real, and the true identity of Brown Hannah and the mysterious treasure of Tanglewood are quite obvious.
I wonder what Pierce is doing nowadays. She hasn't published anything in quite a while.
December 14, 2021
What a satisfying, beautiful tale. Although it is not difficult to figure out what's going on, that did not diminish this lovely, sweet story.
March 11, 2025
Continuing my quest to reread all of the books I own but haven't read since joining Goodreads 10+ years ago...
Meredith Ann Pierce is kind of an old-school YA author, and her Darkangel trilogy has long been a favorite of mine. This one is a standalone, which I don't like *quite* as much as the Darkangel books, but which still has a charm that I can't quite pin down.
I think if I'd read this book for the first time nowadays, I might be impatient with it, and possibly even DNF it. The main character, Hannah, is kind of simple-minded and naïve, and it takes her FOREVER to figure out that Like, the reader can pretty much guess this right away, but Hannah can't figure it out until right in the very end, and it takes nearly an entire frustrating chapter for someone to explain it to her. Hannah kind of stares around in doe-eyed astonishment, totally oblivious to what it incredibly obvious to the reader. BUT, I have to give her a bit of a pass, since Hannah had only recently I can get through this by keeping that in mind, and reading this a bit more like an old-timey fairy tale/fable, rather than a contemporary adventure novel. Hannah shows a little bit of agency, but for the most part things just kind of happen to her as she moves along.
What makes this book worth reading is the writing and the imagery. It's very whimsical, especially the ongoing theme of Hannah's hair growing flowers, seeds, etc. I can't seem to find any fan art online for this book, which amazes me since this book should be ripe for some amazing seasonal artwork. The writing has an old-fashioned feel, borderline "ye olde time" style, with many unusual words that are simple and familiar...but still worth looking up in the dictionary. For example, I'm not sure I've ever seen the word "savor" used to describe scent anywhere else, but it's used many times here in that context, such as "the savor of roses". Hannah is often called "grown-clad girl" or "flower-haired girl" or something along those lines a LOT, which I think would normally annoy me, but somehow it fit with the style of this book so it didn't bother me.
This is a tricky book to recommend to people, because it is so different from most teen fantasy novels written these days. It's also not my normal fare, since I normally eschew flowery writing and female characters that just kind of go with the flow....so I guess there's a certain amount of nostalgia to explain why I still enjoy this book. That and, again, the kind of old-timey-fable style of this book.
Give this book a go if you're in the mood for a whimsical story with lovely imagery. It's a pleasant read, if not a challenging or exciting one.
Meredith Ann Pierce is kind of an old-school YA author, and her Darkangel trilogy has long been a favorite of mine. This one is a standalone, which I don't like *quite* as much as the Darkangel books, but which still has a charm that I can't quite pin down.
I think if I'd read this book for the first time nowadays, I might be impatient with it, and possibly even DNF it. The main character, Hannah, is kind of simple-minded and naïve, and it takes her FOREVER to figure out that Like, the reader can pretty much guess this right away, but Hannah can't figure it out until right in the very end, and it takes nearly an entire frustrating chapter for someone to explain it to her. Hannah kind of stares around in doe-eyed astonishment, totally oblivious to what it incredibly obvious to the reader. BUT, I have to give her a bit of a pass, since Hannah had only recently I can get through this by keeping that in mind, and reading this a bit more like an old-timey fairy tale/fable, rather than a contemporary adventure novel. Hannah shows a little bit of agency, but for the most part things just kind of happen to her as she moves along.
What makes this book worth reading is the writing and the imagery. It's very whimsical, especially the ongoing theme of Hannah's hair growing flowers, seeds, etc. I can't seem to find any fan art online for this book, which amazes me since this book should be ripe for some amazing seasonal artwork. The writing has an old-fashioned feel, borderline "ye olde time" style, with many unusual words that are simple and familiar...but still worth looking up in the dictionary. For example, I'm not sure I've ever seen the word "savor" used to describe scent anywhere else, but it's used many times here in that context, such as "the savor of roses". Hannah is often called "grown-clad girl" or "flower-haired girl" or something along those lines a LOT, which I think would normally annoy me, but somehow it fit with the style of this book so it didn't bother me.
This is a tricky book to recommend to people, because it is so different from most teen fantasy novels written these days. It's also not my normal fare, since I normally eschew flowery writing and female characters that just kind of go with the flow....so I guess there's a certain amount of nostalgia to explain why I still enjoy this book. That and, again, the kind of old-timey-fable style of this book.
Give this book a go if you're in the mood for a whimsical story with lovely imagery. It's a pleasant read, if not a challenging or exciting one.
October 4, 2013
Today’s post is on Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce. It is a stand-alone novel and is 241 pages long. It is published by Viking. The intended reader is young adult but anyone who has read Pierce’s other works will enjoy this one and if you have never read her before this is a good starting place. The cover has a curtain that is the night sky pulled to the side with a young girl looking at the reader and flowers are growing out of her hair. There is no language, no sex and only talk of some violence in this book. It is told from third person close with the focus on Hannah. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the dust jacket- First, she is Brown Hannah- a healer who lives in the Tanglewood, a drab girl who, for reason unknown to her, unnerves the villagers who come to her to get salves and charms. But when she challenges the magician who has held her captive for longer than she can remember, she becomes Green Hannah. Then she is Golden Hannah, traveling through the land, her talking animals and birds (and one silent fox) by her side. And, finally Russet Hannah, when she finishes the long journey back to where she first grew, and learns the story of who she is, and why her long flaxen hair is interwoven with deep-rooted flowers, plants, berries and wheat. A world that utterly involves the reader, bone-deep imagery, a journey that strides through the heart- this eagerly anticipated novel, Meredith Ann Pierce’s first in five years, is well worth the wait.
Review- I love Pierce. She is one of my favorite authors and I have missed her because she has not published anything in a long time. The story is a beautiful journey of a young girl who does not know who or what she is. Hannah is brave, loving, and curious about herself and the world. The villain is very evil and she shines so well against his evil. The dialogue is not bad but it is not why you read this book. It is the descriptions of the world and of Hannah as she changes. Pierce knows how to world build. In her most wonderful trilogy The Darkangel Trilogy shows this well and she does not disappoint here either. I enjoy journey books and this is a good one. Hannah is a little slow about herself just to warn you and that is only problem that I have with the novel. Hannah is too innocent for my tastes but just roll with it and you will enjoy this story totally.
I give this one Four and half stars out of Five. I get nothing for my review and I bought my copy with my own money.
February 21, 2009
Summary: Hannah is a healer in search of her identity and place in the world after she defies the wizard she has served for more years than she knows and sets out with her animal companions to locate the faraway queen who might be able to save the life of the injured young prince who has come to fight the fierce golden boar.
Booktalk: Hannah is a gifted young healer who lives at the edge of a deep, dark wood known as Tanglewood. She has no human friends, no memory or her past, nor any idea as to why flowers and herbs grow among her hair, but these plants always seem to be just the right ones to help the various ailments presented by the poor local cottars, but these folk never stay long and seem to be afraid—whether of her or the forest, she is not certain. But she is starting to wonder. Her only companions are Old Badger, Magpie, and three half-grown foxes—all of whom she can converse with—none of whom the cottars seem able to understand. Her only other human contact is with the wizard, but she only sees him when the moon is right and it is time to take him the tea she makes from the plants she pulls from her hair. She has tried to speak to the young knights who come to the wood occasionally, and has even thought to warn them—that none who enter ever leave—but they do not seem to hear her. The cottars speak of a treasure in the Tanglewood and a monstrous golden boar, but Hannah, who is not afraid of the wood has never seen sign of either boar nor treasure? Why are the cottars so afraid? Why can neither she nor her animal companions remember anything of their pasts? Is the Wizard her friend? What is the treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood? To find out, read this book by Meredith Ann Pierce.
Notes: There is discrepancy among the various reviewers as to the recommended ages—with some saying 9 up and others saying 12 up. My personal feeling is that the language might be difficult for some of the younger or less adept readers because the language patterns are more old-fashioned and medieval sounding (for lack of a better description). That said, I remember just loving some of the older writing styles with unfamiliar words and dialects when I was in middle and high school. I would be more inclined to booktalk this for the older students and just recommend it individually to younger ones who seemed to enjoy similar reads.
Booktalk: Hannah is a gifted young healer who lives at the edge of a deep, dark wood known as Tanglewood. She has no human friends, no memory or her past, nor any idea as to why flowers and herbs grow among her hair, but these plants always seem to be just the right ones to help the various ailments presented by the poor local cottars, but these folk never stay long and seem to be afraid—whether of her or the forest, she is not certain. But she is starting to wonder. Her only companions are Old Badger, Magpie, and three half-grown foxes—all of whom she can converse with—none of whom the cottars seem able to understand. Her only other human contact is with the wizard, but she only sees him when the moon is right and it is time to take him the tea she makes from the plants she pulls from her hair. She has tried to speak to the young knights who come to the wood occasionally, and has even thought to warn them—that none who enter ever leave—but they do not seem to hear her. The cottars speak of a treasure in the Tanglewood and a monstrous golden boar, but Hannah, who is not afraid of the wood has never seen sign of either boar nor treasure? Why are the cottars so afraid? Why can neither she nor her animal companions remember anything of their pasts? Is the Wizard her friend? What is the treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood? To find out, read this book by Meredith Ann Pierce.
Notes: There is discrepancy among the various reviewers as to the recommended ages—with some saying 9 up and others saying 12 up. My personal feeling is that the language might be difficult for some of the younger or less adept readers because the language patterns are more old-fashioned and medieval sounding (for lack of a better description). That said, I remember just loving some of the older writing styles with unfamiliar words and dialects when I was in middle and high school. I would be more inclined to booktalk this for the older students and just recommend it individually to younger ones who seemed to enjoy similar reads.
August 16, 2010
Brown Hannah is a mysterious girl who lives with her animal friends in the Tanglewood; in her hair grow leaves and flowers, and she helps the people of a nearby village with herbs and charms. When she meets a knight in search of the fabled treasure of the Tanglewood and challenges the enigmatic wizard who lives at the heart of the wood, she decides to leave the wood in search of her true identity.
Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood is as beautifully written as Pierce's other books, but lacks a little in plot. Unfortunately, although Hannah is an engagingly naive and charming character, the mystery of her identity becomes clear to the reader much sooner than it does to Hannah, and thus the ending is a let-down, lacking suspense and a clear resolution.
Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood is as beautifully written as Pierce's other books, but lacks a little in plot. Unfortunately, although Hannah is an engagingly naive and charming character, the mystery of her identity becomes clear to the reader much sooner than it does to Hannah, and thus the ending is a let-down, lacking suspense and a clear resolution.
December 25, 2025
An old beloved fairy tale that was a delight to reread after such a long time. :D
February 19, 2017
The book started out strong, but I didn't really care for second half at all!
I feel like a few of Meredith Ann Pierce's books start with good ideas, but she doesn't quite know how to finish them. In this case, Hannah has a major confrontation about half way through the book with a ton of fallout/consequences. The rest of the book is when Hannah quests to resolve those consequences. The problem is that the ending of the book never shows the resolution of those consequences.
The other issue is that Hannah's questing doesn't accomplish much. She gains no new information, there are very few meaningful discoveries, it feels like a bridge, but it lasts for almost half the book. She meets an embroideress and then... nothing. They walk to town together and go to the 'church.' The embriodress herself could have been cut and nothing would have been lost.
Hannah herself has almost no personality, which works fine for the first half of the book when she's a wizard's prisoner and has very little choice in matters, but personality she had dries up in the second half. She was clever enough to work around her circumstances in the first half, but comes up with no plans in the second half. She's naive if anything, but lacks the wonder or surprise that could make her naivety appealing. Towards the end, author had the bad habit of "revealing" information only for Hannah to figure out what things were about ten pages later. Please trust your audience enough to figure it out, or if you must, have Hannah realize when it's obvious, not a few pages later.
Finally, the book really dips into insane, hippy philosophy in a bad way towards the end. Now, I'm not against environmentalism or anything like that, but it just really flattened the world for me. The evil character demonstrated being evil by *gasp* selling his magical assistance: everyone else did sorcery for free! I'm sorry, but that really pulled me out of the book. Maybe it's my bias as a semi-professional artist, but there's nothing wrong with charging people for services you provide them. How is the sorcerer supposed to live and eat if they don't make any money for their services? Oh, and don't think that it would have been okay to do it for food or something like that because the good Hannah would never accept food for her services. It didn't make sense, and drew me out of the book because it made me question how their society would normally support sorcerers. (Also, how did the peasants survive through 60+ years of winter?)
So a quick ending rant...
I'd recommend The Darkangel instead. It has a much more fun protagonist, much better worldbuilding, and has an exciting conclusion at the end of the book! Also, I found some of the language in this book... ostentatious shall I say? Now, I'm reasonably well read, but I found myself look up a word every page or so. This sentence made me want to scream: "A nimbus-- strangely luminous and at first roseate, then viridescent, next meline, now heliotrope-- shifted and swirled about her and her companions..." Isn't that a little much? That was the worst offender, but there were some throughout.
All and all a good premise and first half, but could have done with some serious pruning.
I feel like a few of Meredith Ann Pierce's books start with good ideas, but she doesn't quite know how to finish them. In this case, Hannah has a major confrontation about half way through the book with a ton of fallout/consequences. The rest of the book is when Hannah quests to resolve those consequences. The problem is that the ending of the book never shows the resolution of those consequences.
The other issue is that Hannah's questing doesn't accomplish much. She gains no new information, there are very few meaningful discoveries, it feels like a bridge, but it lasts for almost half the book. She meets an embroideress and then... nothing. They walk to town together and go to the 'church.' The embriodress herself could have been cut and nothing would have been lost.
Hannah herself has almost no personality, which works fine for the first half of the book when she's a wizard's prisoner and has very little choice in matters, but personality she had dries up in the second half. She was clever enough to work around her circumstances in the first half, but comes up with no plans in the second half. She's naive if anything, but lacks the wonder or surprise that could make her naivety appealing. Towards the end, author had the bad habit of "revealing" information only for Hannah to figure out what things were about ten pages later. Please trust your audience enough to figure it out, or if you must, have Hannah realize when it's obvious, not a few pages later.
Finally, the book really dips into insane, hippy philosophy in a bad way towards the end. Now, I'm not against environmentalism or anything like that, but it just really flattened the world for me. The evil character demonstrated being evil by *gasp* selling his magical assistance: everyone else did sorcery for free! I'm sorry, but that really pulled me out of the book. Maybe it's my bias as a semi-professional artist, but there's nothing wrong with charging people for services you provide them. How is the sorcerer supposed to live and eat if they don't make any money for their services? Oh, and don't think that it would have been okay to do it for food or something like that because the good Hannah would never accept food for her services. It didn't make sense, and drew me out of the book because it made me question how their society would normally support sorcerers. (Also, how did the peasants survive through 60+ years of winter?)
So a quick ending rant...
I'd recommend The Darkangel instead. It has a much more fun protagonist, much better worldbuilding, and has an exciting conclusion at the end of the book! Also, I found some of the language in this book... ostentatious shall I say? Now, I'm reasonably well read, but I found myself look up a word every page or so. This sentence made me want to scream: "A nimbus-- strangely luminous and at first roseate, then viridescent, next meline, now heliotrope-- shifted and swirled about her and her companions..." Isn't that a little much? That was the worst offender, but there were some throughout.
All and all a good premise and first half, but could have done with some serious pruning.
February 5, 2016
Instead of the usual review, this time I will be doing an interview with the main character of the book, named Brown Hannah.
me: Brown Hannah, tell me about yourself.
Brown Hannah: Well, I live on the borders of the Tanglewood - alone, except for my animal companions.
me: The Tanglewood, huh? I've heard around the village that the Tanglewood is sorta "creepy."
Brown Hannah: Not to me! I've lived my life amongst the trees and while I get the sense that people from the village are wary of me and my ability to heal - and that the flowers and plants that grow in my hair are distracting to them, they still are willing to come to me when they need help.
me: Flowers and plants grow in your hair?
Brown Hannah: They do! And somehow they know just what would be best for whatever healing I need to do. The foliage in my hair comes up a lot and makes my story more interesting and gives it a fantastical element.
me: I have to agree. Is there a bad guy in your story?
Brown Hannah: Of course. But I don't want to give that away, now do I?
me: True. Is there love? A journey? Can your story give me a wonderful sense of the earth and the depth of its ability to heal us? Do you speak with a lilting accent and use awesome and rarely-used vocabulary explain the world around you?
Brown Hannah: A bit. Yes. Yes, and yes.
me: IS there really a treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood?
Brown Hannah: If only someone could tell ME!! A big part of my story is me working out this very question. Although the answer may seem a bit obvious to some readers, when I realize for myself the answer to the treasure question, it still makes for good reading.
me: WELL.
Brown Hannah: Yes. Well. I'd best be going now.
me: Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts today Brown Hannah. I'll be passing this book along for sure.
me: Brown Hannah, tell me about yourself.
Brown Hannah: Well, I live on the borders of the Tanglewood - alone, except for my animal companions.
me: The Tanglewood, huh? I've heard around the village that the Tanglewood is sorta "creepy."
Brown Hannah: Not to me! I've lived my life amongst the trees and while I get the sense that people from the village are wary of me and my ability to heal - and that the flowers and plants that grow in my hair are distracting to them, they still are willing to come to me when they need help.
me: Flowers and plants grow in your hair?
Brown Hannah: They do! And somehow they know just what would be best for whatever healing I need to do. The foliage in my hair comes up a lot and makes my story more interesting and gives it a fantastical element.
me: I have to agree. Is there a bad guy in your story?
Brown Hannah: Of course. But I don't want to give that away, now do I?
me: True. Is there love? A journey? Can your story give me a wonderful sense of the earth and the depth of its ability to heal us? Do you speak with a lilting accent and use awesome and rarely-used vocabulary explain the world around you?
Brown Hannah: A bit. Yes. Yes, and yes.
me: IS there really a treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood?
Brown Hannah: If only someone could tell ME!! A big part of my story is me working out this very question. Although the answer may seem a bit obvious to some readers, when I realize for myself the answer to the treasure question, it still makes for good reading.
me: WELL.
Brown Hannah: Yes. Well. I'd best be going now.
me: Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts today Brown Hannah. I'll be passing this book along for sure.
August 12, 2013
This book! I am getting the feeling I shouldn't try to review it at all ... but that's the way I feel with all of my favorites.
I knew from the first chapter that the real "treasure" was not in the name of the book - but truly the book itself. The story is one of universal value, of self-discovery and acceptance, of love and power. Hannah (the main character) is meek and sheltered, with only animal companions. The reader has the privilege to watch as she comes into her own personal beauty and wisdom, journeying to discover where she came from, and in so doing, learn who she is.
I have never read anything like Pierce's voice in this story. It is completely mesmerizing, like walking through a dream, and it was a truly magical experience for me. It is reading books like this one that keep the desire alive within me to be a writer.
This is a book for those who love a tangle of beautifully-strung words, a heroine with a strong and true heart, and a fairytale journey that edges just into the margins of our own realities.
I knew from the first chapter that the real "treasure" was not in the name of the book - but truly the book itself. The story is one of universal value, of self-discovery and acceptance, of love and power. Hannah (the main character) is meek and sheltered, with only animal companions. The reader has the privilege to watch as she comes into her own personal beauty and wisdom, journeying to discover where she came from, and in so doing, learn who she is.
I have never read anything like Pierce's voice in this story. It is completely mesmerizing, like walking through a dream, and it was a truly magical experience for me. It is reading books like this one that keep the desire alive within me to be a writer.
This is a book for those who love a tangle of beautifully-strung words, a heroine with a strong and true heart, and a fairytale journey that edges just into the margins of our own realities.
June 19, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars
Summary:
This was an enjoyable standalone with the essence of the classical pre patriarchal fairy tales.
I love the heroine's journey and always appreciate when a novel uses this model and explores this pattern.
Hannah is a young girl living in the edge of the woods of the Tanglewood, her life consists of being a healer of animals and people and living in a small cottage accompanied by her loyal animal friends. She is always dressed in the same dull brown garb, but what is special about her is her fair blond hair that grows plants and flowers. Once a month she has to painfully tear her greenery and prepare a tea from it. She gives this infusion to the sorcerer that lives in the woods and he is nourished from drinking it. Also from time to time Hannah sees knights arriving to the woods to seek a lost treasure in the center of it, but none return nor listen to her warnings.
Her monotonous life changes when she hears from the villagers of the existence of a wild boar that has them all terrified, from this point Hannah starts to question her reality and all that surrounds her. She also starts to have the desire for love and kin, something that as a hermit maiden she has never experienced.
But the turning point of the story is when a young black haired knight arrives at the Tanglewood and approaches Hannah, something that no other knight going through the woods has done before.
Review:
The novel was a little bit slow at the beggining and the vocabulary too archaic and old fashioned. I had to constantly search the meaning of words, but with time I got used to this narration and didn't used the dictionary as much. Also, the sentence structure tended to be too flowery and with the mixture of archaic words, the reading tended to be too difficult at times.
Nonetheless, Hannah story follows the epic heroine's journey.
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Cute moments: 🥰🥰🥰
Angst: 😣😣/5
World Building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎/5
Character depth: ✨✨✨/5
Enjoyment: 😍😍😍/5
Connection to characters: 💗💗💗/5
Writing: 🖊️🖊️🖊️/5
Summary:
This was an enjoyable standalone with the essence of the classical pre patriarchal fairy tales.
I love the heroine's journey and always appreciate when a novel uses this model and explores this pattern.
Hannah is a young girl living in the edge of the woods of the Tanglewood, her life consists of being a healer of animals and people and living in a small cottage accompanied by her loyal animal friends. She is always dressed in the same dull brown garb, but what is special about her is her fair blond hair that grows plants and flowers. Once a month she has to painfully tear her greenery and prepare a tea from it. She gives this infusion to the sorcerer that lives in the woods and he is nourished from drinking it. Also from time to time Hannah sees knights arriving to the woods to seek a lost treasure in the center of it, but none return nor listen to her warnings.
Her monotonous life changes when she hears from the villagers of the existence of a wild boar that has them all terrified, from this point Hannah starts to question her reality and all that surrounds her. She also starts to have the desire for love and kin, something that as a hermit maiden she has never experienced.
But the turning point of the story is when a young black haired knight arrives at the Tanglewood and approaches Hannah, something that no other knight going through the woods has done before.
Review:
The novel was a little bit slow at the beggining and the vocabulary too archaic and old fashioned. I had to constantly search the meaning of words, but with time I got used to this narration and didn't used the dictionary as much. Also, the sentence structure tended to be too flowery and with the mixture of archaic words, the reading tended to be too difficult at times.
Nonetheless, Hannah story follows the epic heroine's journey.
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Cute moments: 🥰🥰🥰
Angst: 😣😣/5
World Building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎/5
Character depth: ✨✨✨/5
Enjoyment: 😍😍😍/5
Connection to characters: 💗💗💗/5
Writing: 🖊️🖊️🖊️/5
January 3, 2009
What an interesting book! It reads very much like a myth... along the lines of Lewis' Till We Have Faces, though it's nothing like that story. One of the reviews quoted on the back cover of Enchantress of the Stars calls says that book is akin to The Faerie Queen. This title felt something like that... like it should be connected to some myth or tale though, as far as I can tell, it's Pierce's own creation. How clever she is to be able to lend her story that ancient feel! Still, it can be argued that every story has elements of those that came before it, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
April 29, 2016
The plot is predictable, which is alright, but the language is frustrating. It's as if the author or editor decided that no adjective could be repeated in the entire novel. Just because I know fifteen synonyms for yellow doesn't mean I really want to see them all in a five-page span.
The dialogue also uses a faux-archaic version of English that is contrived as well.
The goal of the author to create a dream-like story is counteracted strongly by the problems with the language in dialogue and descriptions. If you want truly beautiful language and evocative, lush prose, Patricia McKillipp is the best, ever.
The dialogue also uses a faux-archaic version of English that is contrived as well.
The goal of the author to create a dream-like story is counteracted strongly by the problems with the language in dialogue and descriptions. If you want truly beautiful language and evocative, lush prose, Patricia McKillipp is the best, ever.
July 18, 2017
The Good: I LOVED the descriptions of the seasons passing- the Spring Girl/Summer Damsel etc mythology was great- and I loved the mystery that coiled at the beginning of hte story. I can't say I enjoyed the characters too much, but they were fine, and the descriptions of the flowers, plants, colors, and the seasonal effects/powers were just so great! What can I say?
The Bad: I did love the descriptions, but the plot (after the beginning part) was a bit weak. It stayed a bit weak, and then the ending was just a bit obvious. While I understand why the main character didn't understand what was going on, it was so PAINFULLY OBVIOUS that it was annoying that she had to have it explained verbatim before she understood. Honestly. She wasn't stupid or anything, but she just really didn't get it.
Also, when you think about it, the climax happened about halfway through the book, since after there wasn't really an antagonist left, just people who loved her. And because I at least figured out the mystery after that event, it was a long time waiting for the payoff.
Recommendation: Despite its shortcomings, I would still recommend this story to anyone looking for a good fantasy or a light read. Pierce's writing is good, and if you enjoy her stories, you will enjoy this.
November 19, 2017
This was an interesting if short book. Typically I don't read standalones and this one didn't really change my mind about that.
I found the ending to be a tab abrupt and left me wanting a second book.
I did however love Hannah and loved the magic and folklore of this book.
The badger, magpie and foxes were really cute. They were good friends to Hannah.
I loved hearing about her hair and gown changing. I just wish the humans didn't fear her.
I'm really hoping the wizard is hunted and killed by those poor cottars. They deserve vengeance for all his misdeeds!
I found the ending to be a tab abrupt and left me wanting a second book.
I did however love Hannah and loved the magic and folklore of this book.
The badger, magpie and foxes were really cute. They were good friends to Hannah.
I loved hearing about her hair and gown changing. I just wish the humans didn't fear her.
I'm really hoping the wizard is hunted and killed by those poor cottars. They deserve vengeance for all his misdeeds!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2019
I worked on this book over the past week and a half. It is a fairly short, easy read, as by the description, geared towards teens. I will say I did not necessarily feel like I was reading a book geared towards teens. Sometimes a books is very obviously geared towards an audience that the reader is not a part of, and I did not feel like that at all with this novel.
This is a fun read, albeit a bit predictable. The writing was superb, and I think a little more elegant than most teen novels have. I highly recommend this book to teenage and adult readers.
This is a fun read, albeit a bit predictable. The writing was superb, and I think a little more elegant than most teen novels have. I highly recommend this book to teenage and adult readers.
June 11, 2018
The writing is lovely, perfect dreamy fantasy without being pretentious, and while all the plot twists are signaled from miles and miles away, it doesn't matter. This isn't a murder mystery where you read it to figure out who did it, it's a story you enjoy watching unfold.
Unfortunately, it gets a 0 for the diversity score because everyone is white and there are only straight couples.
I'd recommend reading it anyway because it's gorgeous and very satisfying!
Unfortunately, it gets a 0 for the diversity score because everyone is white and there are only straight couples.
I'd recommend reading it anyway because it's gorgeous and very satisfying!
April 25, 2020
This beautifully written fantasy novel evokes a lovely and fully realized world that is imbued with myth. Brown Hannah is a young woman who lives in the woods, she has animal companions, and plant shoots grow among her hair. She does not know where she came from, or why she is different from the villagers who come to her for healing. She serves a wizard, who lives in the woods not far from her. This is the story of Brown Hannah’s magical quest.
December 11, 2025
3.5
I do think the prose is simultaneously rough and beautiful--there are far too many character descriptors used and I vastly prefer names/pronouns--and it feels like someone found a thesaurus and used it a little too much--but in the end, the story's decently simple, quite lovely, and truly atmospheric. it's not going to make a major impact on me, but I am glad I read it, and I love the animals <3
I do think the prose is simultaneously rough and beautiful--there are far too many character descriptors used and I vastly prefer names/pronouns--and it feels like someone found a thesaurus and used it a little too much--but in the end, the story's decently simple, quite lovely, and truly atmospheric. it's not going to make a major impact on me, but I am glad I read it, and I love the animals <3
November 16, 2018
This would have been a good book except that it was:
1) Too Long For A Tale Where Nothing Much Happens
2) Too Slow ( We Don't Need A Description Of Every Slight Change In The Weather)
3) Too Boring
4)Also, The Ending Was Highly Unsatisfying.
In General, it would have been better if it had been written as a short story .
1) Too Long For A Tale Where Nothing Much Happens
2) Too Slow ( We Don't Need A Description Of Every Slight Change In The Weather)
3) Too Boring
4)Also, The Ending Was Highly Unsatisfying.
In General, it would have been better if it had been written as a short story .
September 4, 2023
This was a reread for me but I'd forgotten a lot of it. Beautiful writing. I looked up a bunch of definitions but I didn't mind because I enjoy learning new words. I thought the concept of Hannah's changing hair and dress was unique and very cool. I wish there had been a bit more to the ending. But a very enjoyable cozy fantasy read. No spice, no swearing.
Read
July 12, 2024Coming to Meredith Ann Pierce’s work after almost two decades, probably. Lovely writing in this one. I would have liked it better with a more compelling plot line, and the resolution was overdrawn. Overall I’m glad I read it.
September 5, 2025
I have loved her spellbinding tales since 1982, when I first bought and read The Darkangel. Each of her novels/novellas is a cabochon, polished and unpretentious, with beautiful imagery and prose. I re-read this every year in the autumn.
March 11, 2018
This is a simply wonderful story so well written and crafted. I was sucked in and intrigued from the first word.
January 14, 2020
A little drawn out and a bit obvious but still fun to read tho obviously written for youngsters.
March 15, 2022
I just love the mood and the magic of this book. It's quiet, but lovely.
June 19, 2024
Another one of my absolute favorites, a must read for anyone who loves a medieval magic, nature, Merlin, kinda vibe in their fantasy!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews