Foxheart

Starred review from August 22, 2016
Heart-pounding adventure, a commitment to remaining true to oneself, and deft storytelling distinguish Legrand’s (Some Kind of Happiness) epic action-fantasy. Growing up in the Star Lands, a 12-year-old girl who names herself Quicksilver has lost her parents and home and has been raised in an orphanage. To make her life tolerable, she turns to something she excels at: thievery. With her rescued dog, Fox, she flees the destruction of the orphanage, trying to stay ahead of the Wolf King, a legendary figure who is loved by some and feared by others. Quicksilver’s adventure kicks into high gear as she, Fox, and a boy named Sly Boots are transported into the past with a mysterious old woman, Anastazia; together they set about the task of protecting the witches of the kingdom before all magic is annihilated. Quicksilver’s evolving relationships with Sly Boots, Anastazia, and Fox and the sacrifices their quest demands give the novel a powerful emotional core, as Legrand digs deeply into the need for (and power inherent in) connection and the friendships forged by shared adversity. Ages 8–12. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary.

July 15, 2016
A 12-year-old white girl discovers she is a witch and sets off to fight forces of evil with her magical animal companion. When she was 3, Quicksilver's parents abandoned her at a convent. There, she is made fun of for her squashed nose and gray hair, and she retaliates by stealing and disobeying. She befriends a bedraggled dog, names him Fox, and tells him of her plans to become the best thief in the Star Lands. In one of her early burgling efforts, she meets Sly Boots, a white boy whose parents are ill and who offers Quicksilver a home in exchange for help. Then she meets Anastazia, an ancient witch who turns out to be the older version of Quicksilver herself. They all travel back in time to try to neutralize the First Ones, who are terrorizing witches using the human agency of the Wolf King. Plot inconsistencies aside, it's a storyline that's as stale as rolls from Pompeii. Quicksilver is a dim, unappealing protagonist whose emotional range mostly runs the gamut from A (anger) to B (brash). Fox, Quicksilver's "monster"--a cross between a familiar and a daemon from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy--is an indefatigable vulpine deus ex machina, as all plot obstructions are resolved by his changing into whatever shape is necessary to accomplish the task. Right on schedule, characters turn traitor, die, or sacrifice themselves for the good of all. Tedious and derivative. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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August 1, 2016

Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old Quicksilver was raised in a convent and has never fit in. She is, however, an extremely stealthy thief. She secretly witnesses a stranger arrive in the middle of the night and hurt Mother Petra. Quicksilver flees for the closest town with her dog, Fox. There they meet a young boy called Sly Boots and, incredibly, an elderly, time-traveling Quicksilver. The older woman informs Quicksilver that she is a witch. Furthermore, old and young versions of herself have been traveling through time for generations to fight the evil Wolf King. Young Quicksilver, Fox, and Sly Boots are thrust into the urgent quest to destroy the Wolf King's source of power before he annihilates the realm's last remaining witches and probably the Star Lands themselves. The most enchanting feature of this story is the character development. At first, Quicksilver is not entirely likable. Her rebellious streak is attractive, but she is decidedly self-centered and stuck in a cycle of reciprocal bullying with another orphan. As Quicksilver's adventure begins, readers slowly start to see her put others' welfare before her own, all the while grumpily denying that it means anything or that she even cares. It is not until at least halfway through the book that Quicksilver honestly admits to herself that she cares about her companions. Her gradual growth over the course of the novel is a powerful triumph. Quicksilver will resonate strongly with any reader who has ever reacted to fear by building emotional walls. VERDICT A fine purchase. Recommend to fantasy readers, especially fans of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy.-Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2016
Grades 4-7 On the night a murderous figure descends on Saint Martta's Convent of the White Wolf, 12-year-old Quicksilver manages to escape with Fox, her dog and partner in crime. Though orphaned and friendless, Quicksilver is unafraid of being on her own; she is the best thief in the Star Lands, after all. Her plans for pilfering are quickly derailed, however, when she and another young thief, Sly Boots, are magicked back in time by a witch who informs them that Quicksilver is also a witch and must stop the Wolf King from ridding magic from the Star Lands. To do this, they must find and destroy the skeletons of the very first witches' monsters (familiarlike animal companions). And so the quest begins. Legrand (Some Kind of Happiness, 2016) fills her story with magic, danger, and suspense, and places two fiery female protagonists at its helm. Humor helps offset the story's tenser moments, and Quicksilver's character grows as she experiences the world and the power of friendship. Give to readers looking to go on a fantastical journey.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017
Miserable, bullied orphan Girl gets by on her quick wits at the Convent of the White Wolf. When the Wolf King attacks the convent, Girl discovers that what she has been taught was a lie. Renaming herself Quicksilver, Girl sets out with an ancient witch, leaving the world she knows behind. Snappy dialogue and creative fantasy elements will delight seasoned fantasy readers.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2016
Miserable and bullied, orphan Girl gets by on her quick wits (and her friendship with stray dog Fox) at the Convent of the White Wolf, where the girls learn about the Wolf King's heroic Great Hunt against evil witches. But when the Wolf King himself attacks the convent one night, Girl discovers that her beliefs and what she has been taught were a lie. She and Fox escape and join up with a boy, clumsy Sly Boots, who needs help curing his parents of a curse. Renaming herself Quicksilver, Girl leaves the world she knows behind when an ancient witch (the elder version of herself, in fact) takes them backwards in time to an era in which magic abounded. The group embarks on a quest to destroy seven animal skeletons linked to the Wolf King's power. Snappy dialogue and creative fantasy elements -- bloodthirsty unicorns, a dragon who collects teapots and is scared of ghosts -- will delight seasoned middle-grade fantasy readers, while the power of the friendship between Girl and Fox gives the story depth. The pace lags in a few places, but the slow moments soon give way to excitement and make the book well worth the nearly five-hundred-page commitment. sarah berman

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)