Sisterland

In epigraphs from classic fairy tales, Finnish author Simukka (As Red as Blood) acknowledges the influences for this modern story, which feels both fresh and timeless. Alice is 11 years old, an age that feels “like crawling under the rosebush where you’d always hidden as a child, but now suddenly the roses had grown thorns,” and she longs for adventure and a best friend. She gets both when she follows a shapeshifting dragonfly from her snowy homeland to Sisterland, a realm of wind fairies, dragons, and Marissa, the human travel companion she’s always wanted. The eerie beauty of Sisterland has an anesthetizing effect on the girls, but they sense their homes and families are in jeopardy. Their journey takes them to Queen Lili, whose statements about human suffering might be commentary on an exploitative global economy: “That’s a small price to pay for Sisterland having an eternal summer.... I’m not going to allow the snow troubles of some distant world... concern me.” But Simukka is primarily interested in the intensity of young female friendships and the ways in which they wax and wane. While a few readers may wish for longer pauses in this Odyssey-paced journey, most will delight in the wondrous details and flexible metaphors. Ages 8–12. [em](Dec.) [/em]