Between the Bookcovers

Author: Maurissa Guibord
Published: January 11, 2011
Pages: 352
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Tessa doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there's something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa's life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

Review:

When I was a child I loved reading fairy tales. They have all the things for a great story - a good character, and evil character, royalty, and magical events that are usually far fetched. Guibord has given us an updated fairy tale: all of the elements of a good tale woven into a young adult novel. The story opens when Tessa (good character) and her father acquire a tapestry at an auction. The tapestry has a large unicorn with a castle in the distance, and every time Tessa touches it she experiences memories of the past. When she pulls a loose thread the unicorn falls out of the tapestry in the form of Will de Chauncy (magical event), a prince (royalty) who had been imprisoned in the tapestry for 500 years by Gray Lily (bad character). Throw in some mythology about the Fates and we have a story that is compelling and unusual in young adult literature. The novel follows Tessa as she tries to save Will from Gray Lily and as she unravels the mystery of the connection between the past and present. And of course, a little romance is thrown in to make it interesting.

While the events may not be your typical read, it has all the elements present to make this a fascinating contemporary fantasy. The story alternates between the present and the past, and when returning to the 15th century the historical elements are well done. The characters are well done but not as developed as I would have liked. Tessa is a strong heroine, she has a great best friend who I would love to have for a friend and Will de Chauncy is a dream prince. The plot is interesting and original, and I could not put the book down until I learned how it all turned out. This is a different type of paranormal read, one that has fantasy, romance,and intrigue. It is a story that is memorable for the unique way the author has woven the fairy tale into a great young adult read.

Rating: An excellent book with a unique story