I want to clarify my rating on this book because a 3-star rating can be rather ambiguous.

This is indeed a good book. When I was around 12 - 13 years old, it would have definitely received a 5-star rating from me - it would have been on the top shelf of my favorites. However, when it was published in 1999, I was already in the process of raising my own 12-year-old. And perhaps that's the only issue. I'm getting older.

I really enjoyed the historical aspect and the folklore presented in the book. The concept of the Wild Hunt was particularly fascinating. Still, I found that I couldn't truly connect with the characters on a deep level. At times, I felt as if I had accidentally wandered into a Judy Blume novel.

Nevertheless, if you have a penchant for stories about ghosts, I would still recommend this book. Even if you're of an older age, it makes for an easy and entertaining read that can transport you into a world of mystery and magic.

So, give it a try and see if it manages to capture your imagination.

4.5

Taking off solely for language (and a weird teacher at the beginning before the main character moves across the ocean) because of the storms. This story was truly remarkable. JENNY IS AN AMAZING NARRATOR, and I'm not afraid to fight anyone who disagrees. It also alluded to an Errol Flynn movie that I love, which was an added bonus. The characters of TAMSIN, EDRIC, JEFFREYS, and the freaking WILD HUNT were all so vivid and engaging.

ALSO, JULIAN is the sweetest little brother, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. He is such a precious character, and I would defend him against anyone who dares to diss him. They clearly have no soul if they can't see the charm and kindness in Julian.

This story had it all - great language, interesting characters, and a captivating plot. I can't wait to read more from this author.

This was a truly quirky and completely unexpected story. It began in a very ordinary and mundane way, but then it gradually developed into a strange, fantastical, and supernatural adventure.

At its core, it's a coming-of-age tale that centers around a young girl's arduous struggles to come to terms with difficult and life-changing events during a particularly vulnerable stage in her life.

The writing style appears to be a somewhat unsteady blend of diary, letter, and memoir. However, it managed to work reasonably well and was often highly amusing. Any book that has the ability to make me chuckle out loud is well on its way to receiving a 4-star rating from me.

I would highly recommend this book to young teens. Additionally, it serves as an excellent read for Halloween, as it has an element of the supernatural that adds to the spooky and mysterious atmosphere.

After her mother remarries, a New York teenager named Jenny is compelled to relocate to an extremely old farm in England.

Upon arriving there, she encounters various creatures straight out of English folklore. Additionally, she befriends the ghost of a girl who lived during the Bloody Assizes.

I have a great affection for this type of book. It skillfully combines fantasy elements with a realistic setting and characters that are easy to relate to.

Jenny, in particular, is very relatable. It has been a considerable amount of time since I last reflected on what a difficult teenager I was. However, Jenny's power struggles with her mom have jogged my memory.

It's interesting to see how the author weaves together the supernatural and the ordinary in this story, creating a world that is both captivating and familiar.

I can't wait to see what other adventures Jenny will have on this old English farm and how she will grow and change throughout the course of the book.

Overall, this book has really piqued my interest and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Once again, Peter Beagle does it.

This book was truly outstanding. It was filled with rich, likeable, and imperfect characters that felt so real. The world-building was also highly believable, even though the world in which the novel takes place is very similar to our own modern one.

Just like in Innkeeper's Song or The Last Unicorn, there is a sense of history, continuity, and other fascinating stories that are only barely hinted at, lingering on the periphery of the tale we are journeying through.

This is the first book of Beagle's that I have read where he uses the first person to narrate, and it is one of the best examples of first-person narration I have ever come across. Jenny is wonderfully human, with beautiful flaws and an achingly honest approach to those flaws.

The plot is engaging, well-paced, and thoroughly satisfying. It is a true English ghost story, in line with old country ballads and dark legends, told from the perspective of a sometimes-exasperating but always loveable American teenager.

However, this isn't just a YA book. It is the kind of book that can grow with its audience, regardless of age. I truly wish I had read it ten years ago so that I could have grown up with it.

In short, it is excellent stuff.

Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" holds a special place among my all-time favorite fantasy novels.

I've never delved into any of his other works. So, when I chanced upon this one at the library, I decided to give it a try. However, it was completely different from what I had anticipated. After reading the first chapter and skimming through a few others, I was disappointed enough to set it aside.

Upon reading the opinions of other Goodreads reviewers, I discovered that many consider it an excellent example of Beagle's craftsmanship, despite being irritated by the main character. One reviewer specifically stated, "This gets off to a very slow start, and if it had been anyone but Peter Beagle, I certainly wouldn't have slogged through 45 pages of Jenny in New York whining."

Someday, I might muster the perseverance to slog through it myself. But for now, I have numerous other books that I'm more excited about and many other hobbies to indulge in. Therefore, this one becomes the first in my "abandoned" category.

Admittedly, there is something to be said for an author who can create a character so realistic that you're truly annoyed with them. I faced a similar issue with Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series. I endured the main character during the first part of the first book until he did something that I found highly reprehensible. It took a year before I was willing to give it another chance, and that was only after much urging from a dear friend who assured me it was worth it.

The story initially progressed at a rather sluggish pace, and I found myself gradually losing a modicum of patience. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I couldn't quite relate well to a 13-year-old girl and her distinct brand of embarrassments and personal miseries. However, as I delved deeper into the book, around a third or halfway through, it truly picked up momentum. The characters started to come alive, especially some of them. The mystery and menace intensified with each passing page. By the end, I was firmly hooked.

Regarding the early portrayal of the teacher-student sexual-harassment and some of the other initial devices, I didn't really grasp their significance at first. But I suppose it's Jenny's story, and she has the right to tell it in the way she deems appropriate. It's interesting to see how these elements unfold and contribute to the overall narrative.

All in all, despite the slow start, the book managed to draw me in and keep me engaged until the very end.

I first became acquainted with Beagle through his outstanding little introduction to The Lord of the Rings titled 'Tolkien's Magic Ring.' It is perhaps due to him that I have developed the habit of actually reading forewords and prologues. Occasionally, one discovers a precious gem within.

Despite the cult success of The Last Unicorn, Beagle remains an underappreciated writer. However, in each of his books that I have read thus far, I have found an original story, masterfully told. Reading his works does not give the impression that he has pieced together echoes of other stories that one already knows. When one guesses the secrets of a Beagle plot, it is because he has foreshadowed them skillfully, not because one has witnessed them unfold before in other forms. This means that his stories are as unborrowable as they are unborrowed, original enough to make even imitators hesitate.

Beagle presents each story with a voice that is convincingly authentic to it - even when, as in Tamsin, the narrator is as foreign to Beagle himself as a nineteen-year-old Cambridge student writing her own memoirs. The story begins with her relocation six years prior from New York City to a dilapidated old farm in Dorset because her divorced mother got remarried, and continues straight through to the unexpectedly epic showdown she inadvertently triggers between ghosts from the Bloody Assizes and the older powers that still haunt the English countryside.

Read Peter S. Beagle. He is truly well worth it.

I can truly fathom how Peter S. Beagle and Jack Cady formed a friendship. They share a vision of a world where the boundaries between the present and the past are not fixed.

Both of them write with an unfathomable depth of understanding and respect for their characters and their stories. They also show empathy without excuses, even a tenderness and a graciousness that enables the truth of the stories and characters to stand independently and shine in their own light, while also embracing their shadows and exposing fears without artifice.

It has been many years since I was very young and first read "The Last Unicorn" and "A Fine and Private Place," and was captivated by their respective charms. However, it wasn't until I read Peter S. Beagle's introduction to Jack Cady's "The Night We Buried Road Dog" that I recalled the feelings those books evoked, especially in my youth.

After obsessively devouring the entire catalogue of Cady's work, I then turned to Beagle's. I am extremely glad that I chose "Tamsin" to start with.

Jenny and Tamsin's story is woven intricately yet simply, with strands as fine, strong, entangling, and as beautiful as the web of a writing spider, bedecked with dew in the earliest dawn.

Thank you for this wonderful experience, Mr. Beagle. And now, the question is, which one should I read next?

"Tamsin" is my very first encounter with a Peter S. Beagle novel. The story unfolds from the perspective of an obnoxious, difficult, and misfit 13-year-old Jenny, presented as a memoir by her 19-year-old self. It begins rather slowly as Jenny shares details of her life in New York - school, her beloved cat, and her divorced parents. Everything takes a drastic turn when her mother remarries, and they are compelled to relocate to a dilapidated farm in Dorset, England. Naturally, being England, the farm is teeming with mythological creatures like the Pooka and the Wild Hunt, as well as ghosts. The novel gradually gains momentum and becomes more interesting around the 45% mark when Jenny meets Tamsin and her cat. The writing is truly evocative and atmospheric, allowing you to not only envision the countryside but also feel its essence. However, the secondary characters seem rather one-dimensional, lacking the depth and personality of the scenery. All in all, it is a well-told ghost tale and mystery, with the added charm of mythological creatures making an appearance, although it can be a bit slow and drawn-out at times.

Sometimes I find myself forgetting about Peter Beagle. This is perhaps because I don't actually delve into the world of fantasy all that often.

He is, of course, the author of the fantasy classic "The Last Unicorn," a truly enchanting book. However, it is "Tamsin" that I consider to be a work of genius.

The story is told from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl named Jenny, who hails from New York. She has to relocate to Dorset when her mother remarries. The old farmhouse they move into turns out to be haunted by the gentle ghost of young Tamsin, who met her untimely end during the Monmouth Rebellion. (Readers of "Captain Blood" should take note: the wicked Judge Jeffries is a major character in this story.)

"Tamsin" is a beautiful book. I firmly believe that if I were to visit Dorset, I would be able to recognize this very farm. And if I were to encounter Jenny, I would know her instantly. How a man in his sixties (or perhaps seventies?) can manage to make you believe that he is truly a thirteen-year-old girl is a mystery to me, but Beagle accomplishes this feat with great aplomb.

The relationship between Tamsin and Jenny is so poignant and touching that every time I pick up this book and read it, I can't help but shed a tear.

Here's a little footnote to this story: I purchased this book with the intention of tucking it into my daughter Anna's stocking one Christmas. But I thought it would be prudent to read a chapter first, just to ensure that it was suitable and readable. Four hours later, I had finished the entire book and promptly headed back to the bookstore to buy three more copies - one for each of my daughters. I, of course, kept the very first copy for myself.

The writing was a little stream-of-consciousness.

This style made it somewhat difficult for me to follow all the details.

As a result, I had to do a lot of re-reading.

However, despite this challenge, it really kept me interested.

I found myself constantly wanting to hear more.

The story had a unique blend of a little bit of history, mystery, and spookiness all rolled into one.

It was like a captivating cocktail that intrigued my mind and made me eager to uncover its secrets.

The author's ability to create such an engaging atmosphere, even with the somewhat disjointed nature of the writing, was truly impressive.

It made me look forward to seeing where the story would lead and what other surprises it had in store.

Overall, it was a reading experience that left me both frustrated and enthralled.