Esme's Wish by Elizabeth Foster
Publication date: October 30th, 2017
Publisher: Odyssey Books
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
"A fresh new fantasy of an enchanting world." - Wendy Orr, author of Nim's Island and Dragonfly Song.
When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father's wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme's mother, Ariane--so why can't she?
But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother's disappearance--that 'lost at sea' is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.
After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother's steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane's double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.
This fresh, inventive tale is an ideal read for younger teens.
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Excerpt
Traveling by gondola was like slipping into a dream: a dream where nothing mattered except the passage of water beneath, and the banks drifting by. The gondola's pointed prow speared upward, arabesque, saluting the bow-shaped bridges under which it passed. It was the same way Esme felt when she was immersed in a good book: cocooned in character and place, reality temporarily suspended, her troubles forgotten.
The gondolier's cry startled her out of her reverie.
"Last stop," cried the gondolier. "Canal's blocked ahead."
Esme peered ahead, trying to gauge the state of the canal, but a bridge impeded her view. She could only see the roofs, a number of which were ruined beyond repair, and had been left open, abandoned to the vagaries of the weather. She scrambled out of the boat.
"Can you point me in the direction of Sofia Square?"
The gondolier waved her off, pointing vaguely into the distance. The square led off into a web of lanes that kept doubling back on each other.
This part of the city was more worn down than worn out, the patina of centuries showing underneath every surface. Peeling paint and exposed brickwork only served to accentuate the city's ancient and noble underpinnings.
One of the doors was so riddled with age that it had partially disintegrated, but the owners had merely nailed a few equally decrepit boards across it. When Esme passed by the exact same door a few minutes later, she realized she was completely lost.
The gondolier's cry startled her out of her reverie.
"Last stop," cried the gondolier. "Canal's blocked ahead."
Esme peered ahead, trying to gauge the state of the canal, but a bridge impeded her view. She could only see the roofs, a number of which were ruined beyond repair, and had been left open, abandoned to the vagaries of the weather. She scrambled out of the boat.
"Can you point me in the direction of Sofia Square?"
The gondolier waved her off, pointing vaguely into the distance. The square led off into a web of lanes that kept doubling back on each other.
This part of the city was more worn down than worn out, the patina of centuries showing underneath every surface. Peeling paint and exposed brickwork only served to accentuate the city's ancient and noble underpinnings.
One of the doors was so riddled with age that it had partially disintegrated, but the owners had merely nailed a few equally decrepit boards across it. When Esme passed by the exact same door a few minutes later, she realized she was completely lost.
About the Author:
I was born in Brisbane, Australia, and now live in Sydney. Apart from writing and reading, which take up most of my time, I love walking, traveling and playing piano (badly).
As a child, I was called Dizzy Lizzy--which I regarded as an insult all my life, until I started writing! Now, daydreaming is a central part of what I do. My favorite childhood books included the Chronicles of Narnia and Enid Blyton's adventure stories. I was such an avid reader that my godfather gave me the complete works of Shakespeare when I was ten. (Still haven't read them all...) My reading tastes nowadays are eclectic, ranging from classic authors such as Jane Austen, to the works of modern YA writers, including J.K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce, Melina Marchetta and Maggie Stiefvater.
I love movies almost as much as books. Dreamlike films--such as the works of Hayao Miyazaki--hugely appeal to me, as do any clever psychological films and TV series which revolve around female characters, such as Buffy and Veronica Mars.
I used to enjoy writing as a child, but then I grew up and was sadly waylaid by more serious pursuits. Reading to my own kids reminded me of how much I missed getting lost in other worlds, and once I started writing again, I couldn't stop. I am also fascinated with people's motivations and personalities, and now I get to explore them on the page. I am a member of the SCBWI, the CBCA, and a reviewer for CBCA's Reading Time.
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