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The Girl Who Loved Unicorns
Fifteenth century Japan is not a nice place to live. Rival clans ruled by daimyos, warlords, tear the country apart in civil war. Amelia is fifteen and her family is out of favor, her father, a samurai warrior, forced to commit seppuku. When a warlord abducts her mother, Amelia vows to rescue her. Aided by a man who adores her, and riding a unicorn she loves, Amelia raises an army, defeats the warlord in battle, and saves her mother. One obstacle remains. The man who loves her wishes to marry Amelia, and Amelia wants to marry him. The problem?Only a virgin may ride a unicorn.
264 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 16, 2021
A Hero’s Journey in Feudal Japan
A hero’s journey set during the Onin War of the Muromachi Period featuring a strong female protagonist and unicorns? Yes, please! The Girl Who Loved Unicorns is a wonderful action-packed fantasy adventure with well-developed characters, a fabulous plot, and a satisfying resolution.
This story begins by introducing the protagonist and showing the reader that her life isn’t all that great right now. She is established as an underdog character but with clear aristocratic roots and education…including in the martial arts. At the conclusion of the opening chapter, the possible existence of unicorns is mentioned to create an effective hook into the story.
Amelia is given a European name to match the European style of her unicorn. This is easily explained by a reference to the foreign contact then common in Japan. Her reduced state at the beginning of the novel combined with her treatment at the hands of a former best friend quickly establish her as a sympathetic character.
As the story develops, we also see that Amelia is a proactive protagonist, constantly taking steps to improve her and her mother’s lives. She also quickly proves to be a kind protector, making her even more likable.
Despite Amelia’s viewpoint insisting otherwise, Kenchi is also shown to be an honorable person from the very first time he is introduced. He shows wonderful character development as the story progresses.
The Girl Who Loved Unicorns delivers everything you expect from a hero’s journey. Amelia begins as a peasant, though she’s of noble descent. She receives a clear call to action, and then is mentored by two older men. She learns to perfect her skills along the way to the “capital”. However, when everything appears to be going good, we get that last minute plot twist that adds so much to the story and strengthens the resolution.
There was only one, very minor plot line left hanging and unresolved at the end of the novel. I can’t say exactly without introducing a big spoiler so I’ll just say that Amelia made a promise to return and do something toward the end of chapter 13 after she had completed another task. However, somehow that promise gets forgotten and the promised action is never completed.
This is only a very minor part of the story and not necessary to achieve the satisfying main resolution at the end. However, I did notice it missing and regretted it. The finale would have been just a little bit more satisfying if the promised action had been shown in the final scenes.
The Japanese setting is well crafted with appropriate historical and cultural references so that the reader understands where they are and what life is like for the people.
Surprisingly, the unicorns used in this story were not the kirin of Japanese tradition. Instead, the author took the European version of the unicorn lock, stock, and barrel and injected it into feudal Japan. Thus, we see the European view of unicorns as horses with horns and a strong association with virgins.
The prose is well written and very effectively shows rather than tells this Japanese fantasy tale. However, it would benefit from extensive proofreading because there are many typos remaining in the narrative. Most of these typos are homophones, so I wonder if they are the fault of some kind of dictation device during the writing process.
For example, within chapter 3: Visions of racing over moon lite landscapes (moonlit). …not at the torrid speed shone before (shown/demonstrated). I rush to help put the blaze out (rushed). Chapter 4: …the scurrying of small animals was absence (absent). Chapter 6: He clasp Kenchi on the back (clasped).
These are just a sample of these small issues found throughout the book. They don’t detract from the quality of the story and its structure but should really be eradicated.
Overall, The Girl Who Loved Unicorns is an exceedingly well structured and balanced tale. It begins with a clear conflict, introduces a classic hero’s journey, and then delivers a wonderful final twist. It deserves a 5 out of 5 rating.
A hero’s journey set during the Onin War of the Muromachi Period featuring a strong female protagonist and unicorns? Yes, please! The Girl Who Loved Unicorns is a wonderful action-packed fantasy adventure with well-developed characters, a fabulous plot, and a satisfying resolution.
This story begins by introducing the protagonist and showing the reader that her life isn’t all that great right now. She is established as an underdog character but with clear aristocratic roots and education…including in the martial arts. At the conclusion of the opening chapter, the possible existence of unicorns is mentioned to create an effective hook into the story.
Amelia is given a European name to match the European style of her unicorn. This is easily explained by a reference to the foreign contact then common in Japan. Her reduced state at the beginning of the novel combined with her treatment at the hands of a former best friend quickly establish her as a sympathetic character.
As the story develops, we also see that Amelia is a proactive protagonist, constantly taking steps to improve her and her mother’s lives. She also quickly proves to be a kind protector, making her even more likable.
Despite Amelia’s viewpoint insisting otherwise, Kenchi is also shown to be an honorable person from the very first time he is introduced. He shows wonderful character development as the story progresses.
The Girl Who Loved Unicorns delivers everything you expect from a hero’s journey. Amelia begins as a peasant, though she’s of noble descent. She receives a clear call to action, and then is mentored by two older men. She learns to perfect her skills along the way to the “capital”. However, when everything appears to be going good, we get that last minute plot twist that adds so much to the story and strengthens the resolution.
There was only one, very minor plot line left hanging and unresolved at the end of the novel. I can’t say exactly without introducing a big spoiler so I’ll just say that Amelia made a promise to return and do something toward the end of chapter 13 after she had completed another task. However, somehow that promise gets forgotten and the promised action is never completed.
This is only a very minor part of the story and not necessary to achieve the satisfying main resolution at the end. However, I did notice it missing and regretted it. The finale would have been just a little bit more satisfying if the promised action had been shown in the final scenes.
The Japanese setting is well crafted with appropriate historical and cultural references so that the reader understands where they are and what life is like for the people.
Surprisingly, the unicorns used in this story were not the kirin of Japanese tradition. Instead, the author took the European version of the unicorn lock, stock, and barrel and injected it into feudal Japan. Thus, we see the European view of unicorns as horses with horns and a strong association with virgins.
The prose is well written and very effectively shows rather than tells this Japanese fantasy tale. However, it would benefit from extensive proofreading because there are many typos remaining in the narrative. Most of these typos are homophones, so I wonder if they are the fault of some kind of dictation device during the writing process.
For example, within chapter 3: Visions of racing over moon lite landscapes (moonlit). …not at the torrid speed shone before (shown/demonstrated). I rush to help put the blaze out (rushed). Chapter 4: …the scurrying of small animals was absence (absent). Chapter 6: He clasp Kenchi on the back (clasped).
These are just a sample of these small issues found throughout the book. They don’t detract from the quality of the story and its structure but should really be eradicated.
Overall, The Girl Who Loved Unicorns is an exceedingly well structured and balanced tale. It begins with a clear conflict, introduces a classic hero’s journey, and then delivers a wonderful final twist. It deserves a 5 out of 5 rating.
October 18, 2018
There is something delicate and lovely — pure, I would say — about this writer's prose. The one thing missing for me was an engagement with the idea of "sexual purity" — exactly what that is, why it's important, and how the unicorn can sense it. I think that's something potentially dark and weird about unicorn lore, even if this protagonist is too young to perceive it as such.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews