Quest for a Maid

Life isn't easy in medieval Scotland, especially if you're a nine-year-old girl who is witness to a ``witchcraft murder,'' betrothed to a five-year-old and almost drowned in a shipwreck. But Meg Wright, with the help of her servant, Peem, and future husband, Davie, bears up remarkably well under the circumstances. By saving the life of the future queen, she even alters the course of history. Through Meg's first-person narrative Hendry paints an intimate portrait on a dramatic, larger-than-life canvas. Myths and actual events are blended well, and the many details about the rigors and joys of everyday life make the complex history accessible to the reader. Meg herself remains somewhat one-dimensional and a bit too heroic, but her story is fast-paced, inventive and--especially for fans of Celtic legends--well worth reading. Ages 10-up. (July)