this didn't take me long to read this, but it was very good. I enjoyed it more than Wise Child, but not by much. also, I lost it behind my dresser for a bit and forgot the story and what was happening so I started over from the beginning.

I needed a little book-comfort so I am re-reading some of my favourites. Monica Furlong's Doran trilogy came to me at a time in my life when I felt particularly lost, and I've read them multiple times since. It's hard to really describe the impact they have had on my growing up, but as a young person reading about Juniper, in addition to enjoying the story, I was struck with inspiration for "this is the type of adult I want to be." I still need reminders every so often, but these books are gentle and centring. 5 stars because I can't possibly be unbiased with something so close to my heart.

I never read this as a child, but fortunately I was able to read it as an adult and still see the magic!

The prequel to Wise Child, Juniper is the story of Ninnoc, know as Juniper, a medieval princess sent to apprentice under her godmother. Juniper leaves her friends, family, and the comforts of her father's small palace to live with Euny, her grandmother, in a small cold shack on the edge of the kingdom. Under Euny's care she toils throughout the day, eats little, and sleeps poorly, all with the promise that, in time, Euny will teach her the knowledge and ways of a doran, the women of the world who live alongside the rhythms of nature and use their skills and magic to help others. While I prefer Wise Child, Juniper is also an engrossing, worthwhile read. Many of the same themes are present, especially the concept that nothing meaningful comes without a price. Juniper's story is darker than Wise Child's: Euny is a tough taskmaster and the antagonist is a more immediate and threatening foe. In exchange, the elements of magic are larger and more visible. While perhaps not as enjoyable or as skillfully crafted as Wise Child, Juniper provides interesting backstory and continues to examine the path of a doran--how they learn, what their purpose is, and what trails they must face.

Despite the similar storyline, Juniper is very different from its sequel, Wise Child. Both stories are about young women who live with a doran, but Juniper deviates from Wise Child's focus on the nature of love and family: unlike Wise Child, Juniper comes from a stable and loving home. Rather, Juniper's story is about assessing one's own skills and finding one's own path, even if that path takes you far away from the comfort and desires of your youth. This theme of self-discovery is worthwhile and interesting to readers of all age groups: it's instructive and comforting to the young, and reminds older readers that the sacrifice and reward of self-discovery is never really over.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Wise Child and Juniper is the role of magic in the books. In Juniper, magic plays a much more visible role and doesn't fit into the world as we know it quite as well as it does in Wise Child. Talking animals, transforming sorcerers, and magical items all transform the visibility and role of magic. While not as blatant as it could be (there are no dragons here), magic is more obvious and harder to explain in this book. As a result, the story is a little more distant and harder to identify with than Wise Child, making it less successful. Juniper's story is more exciting, with a more physical and suspenseful climax, but on the whole it isn't as successful or as enjoyable as Wise Child.

Nonetheless, Furlong writes in a clear, readable style, her characters are realistic and easy to identify with, an the lessons contained within the book are worthwhile and personal. It is a fitting companion to Wise Child and contains many of the concepts and themes that make that book so wonderful. As a prequel, this book provides backstory and characterization that should interest anyone that has read Wise Child. I do recommend this text, primarily but not only as a sequel, and I like to come back to it every couple of years.

Rereading this from many years ago. Back then, I had initially read the author’s first book, Wise Child, and being so enamored and full of admiration for that, I probably didn’t give this gem it deserved due at the time. Glad I reread it, and will do the same with Wise Child soon too. Both books are targeted towards juveniles but what wonderful stories for everyone. Juniper is filled with old world customs, herbs and healing, conflicts, goodness, earthiness, and an insightful striving towards what is best. Hoping and expecting that Wise Child will live up to expectations with a reread too!

Prequel was good - glad to have a history on Wise Child's mentor

My daughters loved this book 20 years ago and my granddaughter enjoyed it this summer.

loved this book!

This is a true coming-of-age tale about an intelligent but shallow princess becoming an impressive young woman capable of courage, wit, and standing on her own feet. Stories that show the rewards reaped from patience, toil, and respecting nature in magic are beautiful. This was a re-read of an old favorite from when I was 14 (now 36). I was originally drawn in by the mysterious cover art. I really love the author's simple descriptions, good pacing, and honest dialogue. Also, whenever I see a witch dying yarn with berries and weaving/knitting with magic, I'm sucked in. And there are moments: the incident with the pig, the choosing of the colors, that have always haunted me in the best way.

I read this book nearly to death as a child, and I'm pretty sure it was quite important in shaping my worldview. Rereading it as an adult, I can see the flaws in the writing (there almost seems to be a genre shift in the last third, and the whole thing wraps up rather quickly) but it was still great to revisit this world. Plus the chapter where Ninnoc/Juniper learns to spin and weave made me laugh: suddenly I realised why I finally starting to learn to spin this year and why I wanted to buy a loom! :p

In Juniper van Monica Furlong volgen we het verhaal van Ninnoc. Ze is de dochter van koning Mark en dus kan ze doen en laten wat ze wil. Tot haar vader haar naar Euny stuurt. Euny is Ninnocs meter en een doran, een wijze vrouw die magische krachten bezit. Het doel van haar verblijf bij Euny is simpel: ze moet tot doran worden opgeleid. Maar waarom wordt ze opeens naar Euny gestuurd om tot doran opgeleid te worden? Waarom krijgt ze daar de naam Juniper toegewezen? Waarom juist voor de periode van een jaar en een dag? Welke uitdagingen staan haar te wachten wanneer ze terugkeert naar huis? En wat heeft haar tante ermee te maken?

Ik lees graag boeken uit het fantasy-genre – Harry Potter, De Hobbit – ik lees ze allemaal graag. Dus toen ik op de achterflap de woorden ‘magische krachten’ en ‘heks’ zag staan, werd ik nieuwsgierig. De magische componenten komen eigenlijk vrij subtiel aan bod. Er is geen gezwaai met toverstokken, geen cliché van heksen met bezemstelen. De magie krijgt vorm door middel van gebeden en speciale lofzangen, bepaalde stenen en kristallen. Verder zijn er specifieke kruiden en een mantel die – op voorwaarde dat de doran hem zelf geweven heeft – je zal beschermen tegen kwade krachten wanneer je hem draagt. Het is interessant om te zien hoe de auteur deze wereld van magie wat anders voorstelt. En omdat het allemaal zo simpel is, krijg je ook niet echt het gevoel dat het heel onrealistisch of vergezocht is. Als lezer kan je de magie misschien wat vreemd vinden, maar het speelt een belangrijke rol voor het verdere verloop van de stand van zaken.

Minder goed vond ik de manier waarop het boek is opgesteld. Het verhaal op zich wordt mooi chronologisch verteld en je kan alles perfect volgen, daar valt niets op aan te merken. Ik heb het echter over de hoofdstukken en het vertelperspectief. Ten eerste zijn de hoofdstukken zeer kort. Elke keer er iets spannends of verrassends gebeurd, stopt het hoofdstuk abrupt. Dat kan vrij vervelend zijn. Dan is er het vertelperspectief. Ik ben het gewoon om boeken te lezen waarbij de auteur gebruikmaakt van een auctorieel vertelperspectief, de verteller weet alles en zo krijg je – als lezer – een compleet overzicht van alle gebeurtenissen. Bij Juniper gebruikt de auteur echter het ik-perspectief en wordt alles dus gezien uit het standpunt van het hoofdpersonage. Dat vond ik persoonlijk nogal irritant, maar het kan zijn dat jij – als lezer – daar anders over denkt.

Alle elementen komen aan bod om een goed verhaal neer te pennen: magie, vriendschap, complotten en verraad. En ik ben blij om te zeggen dat de auteur daar ook effectief in geslaagd is. Is het een van de beste boeken die ik ooit heb gelezen? Nee, maar dat wil zeker niet zeggen dat ik het slecht vond. Als je geïnteresseerd bent in magische elementen en personages die je ziet evolueren door het verhaal heen, dan is dit boek zeker een aanrader. Vind je het echter niet leuk om een verhaal te lezen met zeer korte hoofdstukken verteld in het ik-perspectief, dan is dit niet het goede boek voor jou.

3.5 stars.

I was much more impressed with Wise Child than with Juniper. The first really touched me, and was totally the right book at the right time. But it was still nice to get more “background” to Wise Child through this book.

Juniper felt a bit more like a children’s book to me than Wise Child did. This might be due to the fact that I read Juniper in Dutch, whereas I read Wise Child in English. That might also have negatively influenced my reading experience. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high… Juniper is still a nice read though!