7 stars
Summary: Eff's father is a 7th son. Eff's twin brother, Lan, is the 7th son of a 7th son. As everyone knows, everything in life comes easier to them because they are blessed with good luck. Eff, on the other hand, is the 13th child which makes her unlucky and likely to grow up being evil and a menace. Eff's uncle never lets her forget it. She finally gets away from him when her family moves to the frontier of the wild west. There, near the Great Barrier magic spell set up by the Founding Fathers to keep Eastern Columbia (The United States) safe from magical creatures roaming the Old West, Eff struggles to overcome self-doubt and a concern that maybe her uncle was right.
Review: This is my first Patricia C Wrede book and I liked it. Its no masterpiece. It doesn't even have that fantastic of a plot and the climax is fairly short-lived. However, it is exactly what I expect a good book written for middle school kids to be. Its fun. Its creative. Its fairly fast-paced and entertaining to read.
Patricia Wrede creates an entire new history of the United States (known as Columbia in the book) where magic and all the magical creatures it brings with it have always existed. She doesn't try to explain that new history, she just acts as if its common knowledge and throws in enough information to make the world believable. Its that sort of writing that makes this book enjoyable. If I wanted to read amazing descriptions of a new world I would pick up Lord of the Rings.
Overall, the book was an enjoyable read written with creativity, good dialogue, and with interesting characters and interactions. Its a short read that would be good to pick up on a lazy summer weekend. Its something like 340 pages but with big font and easy language to follow.
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