Clovermead

by David Randall

Reviewed by Lawrence D. P. Miller

With Clovermead, Fables alum David Randall introduces us to his new young-adult fantasy series, In the Shadow of the Bear. The title character, 12-year-old Clovermead Wickward, has the same basic dreams and desires as her modern contemporaries: excitement, adventure, and the hope of some future other than taking over the family business.

Randall wastes little time describing a charming and original setting, beginning with northern region of Timothy Vale, where Clovermead lives with her father, the keeper of the Ladyrest Inn, a popular resting place for pilgrims on the way to the shrine at Snowchapel. The names of the people, places, and even building and animals have a relaxing, almost pastoral feel to them, and Randall's prowess as a storyteller shines throughout.

The story unfolds as Clovermead learns the sorts of things 12-year-olds tend to learn in YA fantasy: that there's more to her family's history than she's been told, that she possesses special abilities, and that she is, put simply, Important. The well-composed, almost hypnotic prose makes the story feel familiar rather than formulaic as it progresses. That progression takes the form of a staccato of individual plot points and revelations with unfortunately little development between them.

The dialogue is the book's only real weakness; Randall indicates in the acknowlegements that he read the book aloud while writing it, and perhaps some of the lines sound better that way. Unfortunately, many of the exchanges between Clovermead and the characters she meets feel stilted and needlessly expository when read silently. This is most noticeable in the first third or so of the book, which focuses on worldbuilding and introductions. Once things settle down, the story and prose take over, and it becomes much harder to put the book down. Clovermead's world changes in ways that are truly original and deceptively complex. Randall attempts to cover perhaps a little too much ground in this first book, but the terrain is rich and interesting. The end result is an engaging, well-written, and occasionally awkwardly paced introduction to a new series.

Clovermead contains images and scenes a little more gruesome and violent than the typical young adult fantasy, but nothing gratuitous. Some younger readers might be disturbed.

In the Shadow of the Bear
David Randall
Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN 0-689866-39-9
Hardcover, 304 pages
June 2004