Merrie Haskell was born in Michigan and grew up in North Carolina.
She wrote her first story at the age of seven, and she walked dogs
after school in order to buy her first typewriter.
Merrie returned north to attend the Residential College of the
University of Michigan, where she earned a BA in biological
anthropology. Her fiction has appeared in Nature, Asimov's Science
Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Unplugged: The Web's Best Sci-Fi and
Fantasy: 2008 Download. She now lives in Saline, Michigan, with her
husband and stepdaughter. Merrie works in a library with over seven
million books, and she finds this to be just about the right
number. She is also the author of The Princess Curse and Handbook
for Dragon Slayers.
Imaginative, intriguing and spirited...In this impressive debut, the author artfully weaves humor, suspense, magic and myth into an intricate plot. -- Kirkus ReviewsWith a good sense of humor, an able and empowered protagonist, and a highly original take on this tale, Haskell's story gives readers much to enjoy. -- Publishers WeeklyHaskell's first novel offers a well-paced fantasy with an involving first-person narrative. -- Booklist[An] intriguing mix of fairy tale, Romanian folklore, and classic mythology...readers will likely be as anxious to return to the Underworld as Reveka. -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Gr 5-8-By layering the exoticism of Romanian folklore onto her novelization of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," Haskell sets this expansion of the story apart from others in a popular genre. Creatures such as the zmeu, a dragon that can assume human form, and the capcaun, a dog-headed ogre, as well as information about the failures and successes of medieval herbalists can be found within this unsettling tale. The curiosity and tenacity of 13-year-old Reveka, an apprentice herbalist at the castle of Prince Vasile, drive the narrative forward. She is determined to discover the secret of the curse laid upon the 12 princesses. At first she only wants the reward promised to anyone breaking the curse, but soon she becomes emotionally invested in saving the lives of the others who've tried to solve the mystery and now lie in near-death slumber in a tower of the castle. Her quest involves her in political intrigue, a Persephone-like trip to the Underworld, and more than one romantic entanglement. Haskell leaves many details murky-perhaps necessarily when so much magical enchantment is involved-but the overall effect is engrossing.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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