Alchemy and Meggy Swann

March 29, 2010
Cushman's (Catherine, Called Birdy
) newest novel has all the elements that have made her earlier books so beloved. With flawless historical prose, Cushman introduces Meggy Swann, a feisty, sharp-tongued girl just arrived in gritty Elizabethan London, who has had more than her share of hard knocks. Unwanted by both her parents, she describes herself as “the ugglesome crookleg, the four-featured cripple, the fearful, misshapen creature,” dependent on two “sticks” to hobble about. When Meggy is sent to live with her father, he is horrified to have to house and care for her—he wanted a son and an assistant. Meggy is equally unhappy until she tries her hand at her father's work: alchemy. While Cushman's story revolves around the potential magic and disappointing fraud of alchemy (and Meggy's father) as well as a murder plot, at its heart are relationships. Meggy must learn to open up to others to turn her life from loneliness and anger toward friendship and even joy. There is no unequivocally happy ending for Meggy, but a better life awaits her, and readers will gladly accompany her on the journey. Ages 10–14.

Starred review from April 1, 2010
Gr 5-8-Cushman adds another intrepid, resourceful, courageous girl to her repertoire in this tale set in 16th-century London. Meggy Swann, deformed since birth, walks with a halting gait using two sticks. Many believe she is cursed by the devil. The 13-year-old has lived in a small village over an alehouse run by her mother and has only ever felt love from her deceased grandmother. Now she has been sent for by her father in London. The astounding sights, sounds, and smells of the city accost her, and readers see and hear them all through Cushman's deft descriptive and cinematic prose. When her father finally sees her, he is disappointed to discover that she is just a disabled girl. Roger Oldham, her alchemist father's apprentice, is leaving to become a player and she is to take his place. Meggy meets a varied cast of characters, and Roger remains her good friend despite her ill-tempered treatment of him at times. Her father, whom she nicknames Master Peevish, is single-minded in his focus, oblivious to all else. In order to do his life's work, he needs money and Meggy overhears him plotting what she believes is a murder to obtain it. Fearing his head might wind up on a pole on London Bridge, she is determined to stop him. Her courage and confidence grow with each obstacle overcome. Cushman fans who loved "Catherine, Called Birdy" (1994) and "The Midwife's Apprentice" (1995, both Clarion) will not be disappointed."Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2010
Grades 4-8 *Starred Review* Feisty Meggy, sent from her mothers village to live in London with the father she has never known, struggles with his evident disappointment when they meet. Not only lame, she is not the son he had expected. Initially, Meggy finds the city a horrible place, but slowly she begins to change her mind after making a few friends and helping her father a little with his alchemy work. When she learns that he has sold arsenic to men who intend to poison their master, she frantically seeks a way to save both the man from his murderers and her father from the law. An authors note discusses the Elizabethan era, including its language, the publication of broadsides, the practice of alchemy, and lingering medieval attitudes toward disabled people. Because so many historical novels set in this period feature girls of royal or noble lineage, its bracing to meet Meg, who empties her own chamber pot into the ditch outside her door and trades strings of creative Elizabethan insults with Roger, her best friend. Writing with admirable economy and a lively ability to re-create the past believably, Cushman creates a memorable portrayal of a troubled, rather mulish girl who begins to use her strong will in positive ways.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
Thirteen-year-old Meggy, who walks with the help of sticks, moves to London. Her alchemist father rejects then ignores her, leaving Meggy to fend for herself. Cushman creates a prickly, resourceful, and ultimately triumphant young woman. She incorporates specific details of daily life in Elizabethan England unobtrusively into the story; little funny touches help balance out the grimly realistic ones.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)