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The FOLK KEEPER

Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for Fiction • Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Children's Books

Corinna is a Folk Keeper. Her job is to keep the mysterious Folk who live beneath the ground at bay. But Corinna has a secret that even she doesn't fully comprehend, until she agrees to serve as Folk Keeper at Marblehaught Park, a wealthy family's seaside manor. There her hidden powers burst into full force, and Corinna's life changes forever...

All Editions:

  • Hardcover: Atheneum Books for Young Readers 0-689-82876-4
  • Paperback: Aladdin Paperbacks
    0-689-84461-1
  • Audio: Listening Library 0-807-28249-9
  • British Edition: Bloomsbury
    0-747-56054-4
  • Large Print: Thorndike 0-786-22461-4
  • ebook: Simon & Schuster
    0-689-84810-2

Available at a bookstore near you.

 

“[A] new tale, artfully plotted and melodically written . . . There's poetry not only in the style but also in the story elements themselves.” —Betsy Hearne, The New York Times Book Review

4 Starred Reviews

“The author's ear for language, her use of classic motifs and her stalwart heroine make this novel an evocative, unforgettable read.” —Publishers Weekly

“Breathtakingly imaginative, with an earthy magic that grounds it in passion, this is sophisticated fantasy from a powerful pen.” —The Bulletin

"The telling is immediate and compelling, and there is a decided sense of impending menace, especially when Corinna is trapped in the underground caves. A memorable story." —Booklist

"Readers who relish a rich fantasy will devour this coming-of-age story." —School Library Journal

Critical Acclaim

  • 2000 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction
  • 2000 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Children's Literature
  • ALA Notable Book for Children
  • Booklist Editors' Choice
  • School Library Journal Best Book
  • Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
  • Publishers Weekly Best Book
  • Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Books for Youth
  • 2003 YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
  • The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Top 20
  • Chicago Public Library, Best of the Best 1999, Stories for Older Readers
  • Voice of Youth Award Book (IL), 2002-2003
  • Michigan Reading Association Readers' Choice Award Honor Book, 2001-2002

Excerpt:

It is a day of yellow fog, and the Folk are hungry. They ate the lamb I brought them, picking the bones clean and leaving them outside the Folk Door.

The lamb was meant for Matron's Sunday supper. She'll know I took it, but she will not dare say anything. She can keep her tapestries and silks and Sunday dinners. Here, in the Cellar, I control the Folk. Here, I'm queen of the world.