Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Thirteenth Child

Title: The Thirteenth Child
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate History
Published: 2009
Age: 12+

"With wit and wonder, #1 New York Times bestselling author Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion in an amazing new trilogy about the use of magic in the Wild West."

Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Eff must finally get over believing she is bad luck and accept that her special training in Aphrikan magic, and being the twin of the seventh son of a seventh son, give her extraordinary power to combat magical creatures that threaten settlements on the western frontier.

Review: In this alternative history, a magical barrier protects most people from the dangerous magical creatures of the Wild West. Eff is a 13th unlucky child who supposedly will cause doom and misfortune, and is twin sister to Lan, the lucky and extra-magical 7th son of a 7th son. This novel covers a lot of ground both in time, following Eff from when she's 5 until she's 18, and in distance, as Eff's family moves to the Western frontier when Eff's magic-professor father and practical mother decide that the move will hide Eff and Lan's differences. Then Lan's potential is revealed after he causes an annoying classmate to float. When he leaves to go to school back East, Eff follows her own path to learning more about magic, including assisting in caring for the magical creatures at her father's college. Her narration provides background about life in this version of early America, where magic helps with daily chores but brings its own dangers. Eff's life in Lan's shadow will ring true to all siblings of a particularly talented child, but at the conclusion it's Eff who uses her own magic to rescue her twin. Reminiscent of Orson Scott Card's "Alvin Maker" books, this is an interesting, but often slow-moving tale. - School Library Journal


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!