Alchemy and Meggy Swan

Alchemy and Meggy Swan
By Karen Cushman
Clarion Books, 2010. 167 pgs. Young Adult

When sharp-tongued Meggy Swan arrives in London, it is hate at first sight. The city is dirty and ugly, and although her father, an alchemist whom she has never met, has sent for her, it turns out he thought he had a son and has little use for a daughter, especially a crippled daughter. Meggy is frustrated by her surroundings, but as she forms an uneasy friendship with Roger, an actor, she finds that she has more to offer the world than insults.

Cushman does a good job of introducing readers to Elizabethan London, and Meggy is a spunky main character. A good read for middle-schoolers.

AE