Forest shrewdly weaves social and political commentary through a compellingly readable story of fantasy, action, mystery and romance. This is Forest’s first published novel, and she has built a fascinating, richly detailed and magical world. These interactions are initially rife with hostility, but Elloren’s fear and anger gradually give way to curiosity and a desire for greater understanding.Įlloren learns that each race has its own version of history, and that Gardnerians don’t necessarily have a corner on truth. Although Elloren has manifested no magic of her own, her powerful and imposing Aunt Vyvian is still determined that Elloren be wandfasted to Lukas Grey, a handsome and powerful Gardnerian.Įlloren refuses for her uncle’s sake and attends the university, where integration policies expose her to Kelts, Elves, Urisks, the shapeshifting Lupine and the dreaded winged Icaral - ethnic groups believed by most of her people to be inferior to Gardnerians.
Raised by her loving, absent-minded uncle in an isolated village far from Gardneria’s capital, 17-year-old Elloren’s life suddenly changes when her uncle abruptly sends her to the university with her two brothers rather than see her “wandfasted,” a Gardnerian betrothal practice.
In "The Black Witch" by Laurie Forest, Elloren is the granddaughter of the revered Black Witch of Gardneria - liberator of the Gardnerians and the reason for their political power in the land of Erthia. " THE BLACK WITCH ," by Laurie Forest, Harlequin Teen, $19.99, 608 pages (f) (ages 14 and up)
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