Blackthorn by Elizabeth Pulford
Walker Books, 2008 ISBN9781921150470
(Age 10+)When her father dies, Alyana can no longer play the role of
the dutiful daughter and be relegated to a relative's house, learning
to cook and sew. She renounces all attempts at helping her, preferring
to hide out in the nearby forests and survive alone. She has hunting
skills learnt form her father, and feels she is able to stay alive
without help.
But she is naive and needs the help of the man who finds her in the
forest, starving and scared, the one she calls Boar, the man with the
twisted leg. He gives her a puppy and together they survive with the
skills and instincts taught her by Boar. Calling herself Blackthorn,
she denounces all that she knew before and learns to survive in the
forest.
Here she learns more about herself and her limits, and sees for herself
some of the other inhabitants in the forest. An unusual little read
about acceptance and self determination.
Fran Knight
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