I finished this on Friday at the airport. I confess I had not heard of Monica Furlong's stories until I read a Strategist article in their "Things I Can't Live Without series. Usually these are very "What can I shill" pieces, but this one was with Kate McKinnon and her list was extremely authentic.

She actually recommended Furlong's "Wise Child," but since this is the prequel I thought I'd start there.

Very good early Celtic story about a young girl who is to be a doran (if I spelled that wrong, lo siento, I did the audiobook!). Wonderful sense of time and place, I would have loved to read this when I was in middle school. I especially loved the parts about spinning, dyeing and weaving, but I'm a knitter - who has not yet started spinning, but never say never.

I look forward to reading "Wise Child" and "Colman" as well. I love an audiobook that is about 5 to six hours, so these are perfect for me, and the narration was top-notch.

Terrific book, for YA folks, but not exclusively for the young. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read it in Sharon Blackie's recommendation, as a way of imagining the Wise Woman archetype. Well done.

I enjoyed reading this, and there's no doubt that Furlong is a talented, thoughtful writer. As a prequel, however - Juniper features as its young protagonist the mentor figure of Wise Child - I'm not sure it's an unqualified success. I mean, these books both have the exact same story. A well-loved, well-spoiled little girl goes to live with a good but unsympathetic witch, where she learns practical skills, an awareness of nature, and basic magical abilities. There is a pivotal friendship with a young boy her own age - in both cases a cousin. Finally, she undergoes an initiation where her own suitability for witchiness is assessed through a dream of flying. Once aware of her own potential, the child then faces down a magical threat from a close female relative (in Juniper it's an aunt, in the previous volume a mother) who the child defeats but does not kill, before said child leaves her community to establish a new life elsewhere.

And honestly, Wise Child did it better.

I thoroughly enjoy the magical world that this author has created, but I didnt enjoy this book as much as Wise Child.

n  n    Can she save her father's kingdom from an evil sorceress?n  n

^^ that's the blurb on the front of this book and while, technically, yes, also ugh no.

Set after the timeline sequel Wise Child but written after, Juniper follows the titular character on the first part of her journey from the spoiled, only child and princess of a local king/chieftain in England in the early days of Christianity to the powerful, peaceful, centered doran we know she becomes. And yes, she has to fight a sorceress who is threatening her father's kingdom but that's not the point.

Even the blurb at the back of the book gives equal importance to Juniper's training and the eventual showdown. It's as if the publishers thought there was a segment of the market who was put off by the slow, methodical nature of Wise Child and would be willing to read a book that's ~10% less about churning milk into butter if there was a showdown about 10% more climactic sandwiched before the end. As it were, the actual final showdown is true to the spirit of these books and is much more about Juniper realizing who she is and what she wants than about any fancy footwork.

It's interesting to come back to this book time and again and see how my views have changed. One of the central conflicts is within Juniper herself (also known as Ninnoc) as she wrestles with what it means to be the only child of a king but a girl (aka not in line to inherit the throne), appreciative of comforts and stability but wary of marriage as the only (stifling) route available to her, or interested in her godmother/mentor's powers but uncertain of how it relates to her ambitions and desires. Unlike Wise Child, which about the larger societal forces that 'other' those who aren't like us, the witchery in this novel is taken for granted. Of course bathing in clearwater provides protection against evil incantations. But is that what Juniper wants to do? Give up being a righteous, wise ruler for a nomadic existence where she'll only ever touch the lives of a selected few?

As I grow older and experience more of life, I find myself less and less indignant that Juniper is forced to give up any claim to the throne (both because of her gender  and because her mother does eventually bear a healthy boy child) and chooses a life of adventure and small comforts instead. Just because they're small doesn't make them less worthy. Just because Juniper will only ever help a village at a time doesn't make her life less meaningful than if she'd become chief of Cornwall. Within the confines of the world she's in, that she's choosing at all means that she's come into her own power and agency. It's hard to argue that she chooses poorly, either, since we know the life that's waiting for her.

All I hope is that she gets to bone Finbar (or whomever, or whomevers) between this novel and Wise Child. For a book that's all about the cycle of life and appreciating the spirit in everything, I assume that dorans are all about that sex positive life. I imagine Angharad and Euny are long time lovers and friends. Juniper seems very straight, but Trewyn I think has some strong gay vibes as well.

Dit is het tweede deel in de Heksenkind trilogie. Het eerste deel Heksenkind las ik vorig jaar. Eindelijk kwam ik eraan toe om het verhaal van Juniper te lezen en wat was het weer een genot! Om in de sfeer van het boek te blijven ga ik direct door met het lezen van het laatste deel in de serie, Colman. Echt een aanrader dit!!!

Good, but not as satisfying as Wise Child, perhaps because Wise Child raises some expectations about Juniper's story that aren't quite met. I'd forgotten that Maeve the Fair doesn't ever appear here; we don't learn how Juniper came to be the Red Doran, or why it was her destiny to live in Scotland. It's easy to see why -- Juniper is a story about Juniper's childhood and her first experience of adult powers (just as Wise Child is about that part of Juniper's pupil's life), and of course Juniper did not stop maturing and learning and becoming herself after her very first adventures. There was more; it's just not written down. But it makes Juniper feel a bit as though it's about a different person than the one I knew in Wise Child.

Voorgelezen aan Juniper, ze vond het fantastisch.

After suffering a bit from book ADD (you know, you pick book after book from your shelf and nothing is quite right) I figured the safest path for reading satisfaction was to pick up an old favorite. That’s how I found my way to Juniper, one of my first young adult books, first experienced when I was in middle school (which, I’m beginning to realize, was a pretty long time ago). It tells the story of a young girl named, Ninnoc, only child of King Mark of Cornwall. Ninnoc starts off the story living a privileged existence, and is a little spoiled as a result. She’s sent away to live with Euny, a wise woman, for a year and a day, to learn how become a doran, sort of a white/earth witch. When she returns to her home, she discovers that an evil sorceress is threatening the lives of her family and country. It will take all of her bravery and training to succeed.

It’s been over ten years since I read Juniper, and reading it again a comforting experience. I found I actually remembered little from my original reading experience (save for the scene Juniper/Ninnoc has to kill the pig. That one really sticks with me for some reason), so it was like I was experiencing certain parts for the first time. As someone who enjoys reading books where people learn how to practice magic, this book was really meant for me. Despite the fact that most people wouldn’t consider it fast paced, I found that I pretty much flew through it. One thing I didn’t pick up on my first reading is how Euny’s treatment of Juniper may, by today’s standards, be considered abusive. This was a bit of a shock. One thing I noticed while reading this book is how different young adult books are today, as opposed to when this was published (1990). The writing style is simpler and more concentrated (just what I needed), and the young characters seem very innocent when compared to say, The Hunger Games, which I also read this month. As a consumer of young adult lit, I found these trends to be very interesting.

Juniper is a nice read, with good solid writing and a likable heroine. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a short but satisfying read of historical fantasy.

Though this is the second book in Furlong’s young adult trilogy, I read this book first. Juniper is the prequel to The Wise Child. Personally, I preferred reading it out of order as it gave more context to The Wise Child.

Favoriete kinderboek serie van vroeger

I read this today, thinking it was the book that had impacted me as a child. As it turns out, the book I was looking for is entitled "Wise Child", and this is the prequel.

I would have liked to have had more depth to the characters and the world in general - that being said, the book is not tedious in its descriptions. It seems to be written for younger than YA audiences though, which probably accounts for what I felt was missing. As an adult reader who enjoys this type of story, it was basically brain candy - an easy read that was enjoyable and required a minimal investment of time.

There is one quote that I liked regarding Christians and the existence of magic: "The Christians say that there is no magic - that the world is ruled by love. I cannot decide whether they are right. Our forebear Arthur was a Christian yet believed in magic". This was said by the queen, Juniper's mother.