Awards, Reviews, and Editions, The King of Attolia
Awards, Reviews, and Editions, Firebirds: An Anthology
Awards, Reviews, and Editions. The Queen of Attolia
Author's note to The King of Attolia
Author's note to The Queen of Attolia
Author's note to The Thief.
Awards, Reviews, and Editions. The Thief
An excerpt from The Thief
Awards and Reviews, Instead of Three Wishes
An excerpt from Instead of Three Wishes
Home Page: Mark Turner

Awards, Reviews, and Editions. The King of Attolia.
Greenwillow / HarperCollins $16.99 (40 pages)
ISBN  006083577X

Horn Book Fanfare List (Best books of 2006).
Horn Book starred review.
School Library Journal Best Books of 2006.
School Library Journal starred review.
Ingram suggested list.
Kirkus pointer review.
2007 Top Ten Books for Young Adults, Young Adult Library Services Association (Yalsa).
Finalist for the Andre Norton Award, 2007.

"The writing in this series of three books is breathtaking. Turner has a mastery of prose that is worth studying. This third volume follows the Newbery honor book, The Thief, and the second book in the series, The Queen of Attolia. Each book has followed Eugenides (it was fun to figure out how to say his name), the Thief who serves the Queen of Eddis. In the first, we learn what a Thief does and the strength of Eugenides' character. Filled with humor, pathos, and a deep understanding of the human condition, frequent surprises and subtle puzzles keep the reader tucked comfortably under the blankets while the pages turn. It's difficult to say a great deal about this third book without giving away the plot in the first two, but Eugenides must grow up in The King of Attolia. With a feeling that he is fulfilling his destiny, he leaves Eddis and resides in Attolia, where his unpopularity is thrown into his face daily. His long-held love is finally realized and he learns to live with the horrific punishment dealt him in The Queen of Attolia. A clash of cultures, mistrust, and the intrigues of a barely-controlled court bring this high fantasy onto the list of the genre's finest. Not to be missed." — Children's Literature Network.

"After feeling complete at the close of the story The Queen of Attolia, I knew that love would prevail, and while they may not live happily every after, they would live and love. After five years, the next chapter in Gen and Attolia's life is finally ready, allowing the reader to see them grow and mature. The King of Attolia is a complete story in and of itself. We see Gen win the trust and loyalty of guard, eliminate some political threats to his queen, and become king in deed as well as name. The book ends with a pleasurable look to the future. I look forward to seeing what happens next." —Tracy Taylor, MLS - Ingram (Suggested list)

"Like all loyal soldiers of Attolia, Costis hates Eugenides, his new king. Eugenides was an enemy until he forced the Queen of Attolia into marriage, and the oafish conqueror doesn't even have the grace to behave with majesty. But when Costis is ordered to guard Eugenides directly, he gains an unexpected sympathy for the young king. Through Costis's naïve eyes, Eugenides appears weak, bumbling and a too-pathetic target for the pranks aimed at him. A knowledgeable reader of the series, however, will know that Eugenides is more than he appears, and can follow with delight as the king's clever schemes slowly become apparent to Costis. Ultimately, this unreliable narrator sees Eugenides transform from fool to larger-than-life hero, and never realizes that both are true at once. Well-constructed puzzles and intrigues keep this offering moving through Turner's characteristic secrets and subtle revelations to a wholly satisfying conclusion, while a few loose ends hint at more entries in this compelling series. Less emotionally powerful than Eugenides's earlier adventures, but still a winner. (Fiction. 12-15)" Kirkus (pointered review).

This impressive collection showcases an unusual diversity of styles, settings, and tone. November, editor of Penguin's Firebird imprint, has chosen wisely: each of these 16 tales has literary merit strong enough to transcend its respective micro-genre (heroic fantasy, fairy tale, magic realism, "feline fantasy," etc.). Highlights are many: Lloyd Alexander eschews his usual epic fantasy setting in "Max Mondrosch," a darkly intriguing quasi-Edwardian nightmare about a man whose job hunt is literally the end of him; Diana Wynne Jones and Garth Nix offer robust tales likely to satisfy their respective legions of fans (Jones in familiar territory, Nix less so); Nancy Farmer, in "Remember Me," relays a bittersweet tale of a girl born into the wrong body and into the wrong family, and her journey back to where she belongs; and the highlight, Megan Whalen Turner's "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box," shares much of the sly morality-play structure of the best Twilight Zone episodes. Uniformly mature and thoughtful, these stories are likely to appeal not only to imaginative children but adults as well. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Mike Jones, Chronicle, November, 2003.

In January 2002, Firebird Books was launched, an imprint specifically devoted to young adult and children's fantasy and science fiction, the very same material this column covers. In that short space of time, they've released dozens of reprints and originals from some of the best names in the business, stamping their logo on everything from Charles de Lint's The Riddle of the Wren to Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword to William Sleator's Interstellar Pig. Now, however, Firebird turns its attention to short stories with this extraordinary collection of all-new material from seventeen A-list creators. Notable or familiar names include Diana Wynne Jones's "Little Dot," Laurel Winter's "The Flying Woman," Lloyd Alexander's "Max Mondrosch," and Patricia McKillip's "Byndley." Of special interest is the contribution from Emma Bull, a retelling of the ballad "The Black Fox" accompanied with full comic illustrations by famed artist Charles Vess. With other contributors including Nancy Farmer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Delia Sherman, and Garth Nix, it's a roundup of some excellent writers, with stories that range from the fantastic to the poignant, or even the subtly comic, such as Megan Whalen Turner's "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box." I was up late sampling new offerings from the authors I grew up with, and rediscovering ones I'd almost forgotten. As with all anthologies, there's enough to appeal to everyone, but not all stories will appeal to every reader. However, it's rare you'll get this much quality in one place. Firebirds isn't just recommended, it's practically essential reading for people who love this genre.

Locus, September 2003.

Booklist Top 10 Fantasy Books for Youth.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Blue Ribbon List  (Best books of 2000).
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2001.
Parents' Choice 2000 Fiction Gold Award.
Parent's Guide Honor Award, 2000.
A Chosen Book of the Cooperative Children's Book Center, 2001.

The Horn Book (starred review)

A tense opening plunges the reader into a harrowing escape scene, as the Thief slips through secret passages and races desperately across the countryside - where both hero and reader are slammed to a sudden and unexpected halt in the darkness. Already we sense, from this first chapter, that Eugenides is a master of stealth maneuvering and should have evaded his pursuers - but something has gone horribly wrong. In the shocking scene that follows, Eugenides's hand is chopped off by order of the ruthless Queen of Attolia, and the maimed Thief is sent home to Eddis as a cruel message. Those readers already attached to Gen from The Thief may suffer with him through his painful recovery but will never doubt it; newcomers will soon be engaged by this complex young man as they follow him through the fictional Mediterranean landscape, brilliantly drafted by Turner in the previous novel and here recalled as stage for a complicated web of political intrigue, military strategy, and star-crossed love. In order to save his country from ruin and takeover, Eugenides must return to Attolia and attempt to steal his greatest prize yet, the cruel queen herself, while still battling his profound fear, rage, and the predilections of his heart. The intricate relationships between the three small nations of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis - and the powerful Mede empire that would swallow them all - demand ample concentration, but the highly developed imaginary world is fully realized and as palpable as the Eddisian gods and goddesses who play a substantive role in shaping Eugenides's fate. The intense read is thoroughly involving and wholly satisfying on all fronts, as the novel's pacing quickens to a dramatic political climax, then slows appropriately for the more intimate conclusion.

Kirkus Reviews (pointered review)

In this intense, intelligent sequel to The Thief (1996, Newbery Honor), war breaks out among three Balkanesque countries, engendering a series of crafty maneuvers and terrifying, high-stakes gambles. The uneasy balance between mountainous Eddis and larger neighbors Attolia and Sounis tips when Eugenides, the Queen of Eddis's official Thief, is captured by the ruthless young Queen of Attolia, and has his right hand struck off. Reprisals escalate, until Eddis is attacked on two sides and, ominously, troop ships from the huge Mede Empire approach. Turner creates a complex web of intrigue, hidden motives, feints, and counterfeints, focusing on the Queen of Attolia, who, while playing a dangerous diplomatic game with the scheming Mede Ambassador, has been driven to the ragged edge of sanity by the bloody-mindedness required to hold power in her turbulent country, and on Eugenides, whose deep-seated love for her struggles with stark terror after what she has done to him. Events move to a tight climax as the Ambassador seizes on a pretext to land his troops, and under his very nose the queens of Eddis and Attolia form an alliance to drive them back into the sea. Readers will be spellbound, not only by the plot's ingenious twists and turns, but by the powerful webs of humor and sorrow, differences and commonalities, love and loyalty that bind this memorable cast together. (Fiction. 11-15)

Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

This spellbinder of a sequel to the Newbery Honor-winning The Thief is every bit as devilishly well plotted and grandly conceived. As it opens, Eugenides the thief has fallen into the clutches of the queen of Attolia, who still seethes from his besting of her (relayed in The Thief. Unwilling to execute him, lest she start a war with the queen of Eddis (Eugenides's cousin and rulter), she orders his hand cut off. The drama is high, and the action grows only more engrossing. As Eugenides tries to reconcile himself to the amputation, war breaks out, involving Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis, tiny countries modeled on ancient Greece and other Meditterranean nations. For the most part, Turner eschews battle scenes, although she executes these with flair. Instead, she emphasizes strategy, with brilliant, ever-deceptive Eugenides a match for Odysseus in his wiliness and daring, perpetually catching readers by surprise. When, fairly late in the novel, Eugenides decides tht he must wed the fearsome queen of Attolia in order to achieve a more lasting peace - and that he loves her - it requires a certain leap of faith to accept that his terror of her coexists with his desire. But Turner's storytelling is so sure that readers will want to go along with her - and discover whatever it is that Eugenides will do next. Ages 10-up.

Parents' Choice (Gold Award)

In this amazing sequel to the award winning novel The Thief, little is as it appears. The wars and rumors of wars are played out against a backdrop of court intrigue worthy of the Byzantine Empire. Eugenides, while up to his old tricks as the official Thief of Eddis, is captured by the queen of a neighboring country, Attolia. In a horrific scene Attolia's beautiful harsh ruler has the man's right hand cut off. A wretched, sick shell when she returns him to his queen and country, his recovery is protracted and haunted. Yet, humanity is discovered in the most unlikely places, and gods worshipped in a dilatory manner prove real. A 2000 Parents' Choice® Gold Award.

Book, May-June, 2000. Recommended Children's Reading.

The strong-willed queens of Attolia and Eddis maneuver for power and to protect their lands in this fast-paced sequel to the stellar Newbery Honor Book The Thief. Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, has always been able to break into any locked room or guarded palace to spy for this queen, but as this novel opens, the gods turn against him. The Queen of Attolia seems to have ruined his life, yet a plot twist sets the obvious on its head and leads to an unexpected conclusion. Scheming, spying, thieving, and fighting fill the pages of this cleverly plotted, enjoyable tale.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Reviewing codes: 5Q (Hard to imagine it being better written); 4P (Broad general or genre YA appeal); J (Junior High); S (Senior High).
How can you be a one-handed thief? That's what Eugenides, the royal Thief of Eddis, wonders when the Queen of Attolia orders his hand cut off - after he survives the first brutal, fevered months. Long after he is out of mortal danger, however, Gen still has to find the answer to his question and to regain his confidence and his ability to laugh. He struggles with himself against a backdrop of war - the countries of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis all fight externally as Gen wages his internal battles. Back in Attolia, the young queen who maimed Gen fights with herself too, tortured by the fact that she tortured a boy, even as she battles corrupt courtiers and sends armies to attack neighboring countries. This book is as much her story as it is Gen's.
A stand-alone sequel to the Newbery Honor book The Thief (Greenwillow, 1996/VOYA June 1997), featuring several of the same characters, this rich, layered tale is immensely satisfying. The setting draws on the ancient Mediterranean world, but the countries and the pantheon are Turner's own. Complex characters and a complicated and sinuous plot, and references to gods and goddesses and their stories all enrich the novel, making the reader want to reread for all the details and resonances missed on the first go-round. This is a story to savor, one of those books a reader will race through to find out what happens, at the same time never wanting it to end. - Reviewed by Rebecca Barnhouse.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (Blue Ribbon List)

"The Queen's Thief" has been captured by the ruthless queen of a neighboring country waging war on his homeland: Eugenides (Gen, from Turner's The Thief, BCCB 11/96) has been betrayed to his enemy, the Queen of Attolia, by his gods. His suffering and redemption, the military strategy involved in waging war on three fronts, and the limited options open to a disputed ruler determined to hold her throne are three convergent threads of this character-driven novel. Gen is an enigmatic individual with hidden motives; his love for Attolia, while not obviously foreshadowed, is convincing, as is his close friendship with the Queen of Eddis, for whom he thieves. The rival queens have a solid physicality; their enmity is clearly explained, and their rapprochement is no more than hinted at. Eddis fights for her kingdom as Attolia fights for hers, using any available weapon to win; Attolia regrets her apparently barbaric decisions, but even Eddis understands the bitter necessities that rule her foe's actions. More complex than its predecessor, this sequal is also thematically darker, with a more densely layered setup. While the pace is not swift, it is steady as a heartbeat, pulsing toward an inexorable conclusion. There's a slight arrhythmia when Gen blackmails Attolia into a promise of marriage, but Turner's resolution is both unexpected and convincing. Fans of The Thief are a few years older now, and they may well appreciate the subtleties of Gen's continuing story.

Kepler's Books, May 2000.

With precise prose and an excellently crafted plot, this is an enrapturing read for both children and adults.

Joe Monti, reviewer, Barnes and Noble's Explorations: The Best in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Fiction, April/May 2000.

Many readers may be familiar with Ms. Turner's previous novel, the Newbery Honor award-winning The Thief. Quite simply, this was the best fantasy novel I read in 1997! Which leads me to explain why we have reviews of children's literature gracing these fine pages - because these books have mass appeal beyond their targeted audience.

There is precedence from Watership Down and The Hobbit, to modern titles like the Redwall series, to The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, and of course, the Harry Potter series. What is also widely known, but seldomly expressed, is that many adults, particularly fantasy readers, actively seek children's fantasy novels. Not because these books hold simple pleasures; if anything, they ring true and pure. Turner's The Thief and this novel, its direct sequel, belong in this group.

The Queen of Attolia is actually a more mature work, and a more complex novel than its predecessor, and that's saying a lot. (Although children under 10 may find it too complex, I'm afraid.) Without spoiling too much, I will say that this novel begins in a similar vein to its prequel as we follow Gen, The Queen's Thief, infiltrating a castle by night. However, the book quickly takes a more serious turn as Gen is caught and seemingly abandoned by his Gods.

Here's where the strength of this book lies. It is extremely difficult to have a successful sequel to a singular piece of art, unless you try not to imitate or repeat, but build upon the foundation in a new and singular way. That's exactly what Turner does here as Gen is forced to reinvent himself and save not only the kingdom of Eddis, but himself and the Queen of Attolia. This is a brilliantly plotted, lushly characterized sequel filled with adventure.

Caron Mitchell of Kid's Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Despite a shockingly brutal beginning, this second tale of the Thief of Eddis is a charming one, set in a fictional land as richly detailed as our own. The empire of Sounis and the queendoms of Eddis and Attolia become as familar as the medieval European lands of which they remind the reader. Eddis' future looks bleak as her surrounding nations wage war, each threatening to unite Eddis and Attolia and protect his country. Engenides's youth and intelligence draw the young reader in, as does his brilliant plan to "steal" the Queen of Attolia. Gen, as he is known, is prepared for anything - except perhaps for the beautiful Queen he must kidnap. The novel is perfect for older readers who have become impatient with the rodent characters in the Redwall series, yet are not prepared for the graphic nature of adult fantasy books.

Amazon.com Reader

The Thief was notable for the wry humor of its narrator, Gen, who revealed so much about himself while still keeping his story's twist ending in store for the reader. In The Queen of Attolia, Gen (who prefers to be addressed by his full name, Eugenides, as befits his position as Queen's Thief of Eddis) finds his humor under severe strain as the uneasy political balance between the three countries of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia finally explodes under the pressure of the encroaching Mede Empire. An ill-fated foray into Attolia's palace loses Eugenides his hand and Eddis' reprisal - war - seems to be the response the Mede Ambassador and his Emperor have been waiting for. Three small countries will either ally or fall, and at the moment none of them are at all concerned with alliance. "What can a one-handed man steal?" If he's very, very clever, he just might be able to steal peace.

It has to be hard, being the sequel to a Newbery Award-winning book, but The Queen of Attolia manages admirably, in part by being different from its predecessor without losing the familiar context of characters and setting. A third-person narrative allows the reader to view the situation from the perspectives of various characters - mostly Eugenides and the Queen of Attolia - but also distances the characters; fortunately, Megan Whalen Turner maintains such detail in her descriptions that many third-person passages feel like first-person narratives. There are changes to deal with in familiar characters as well. The war tests everyone, Eugenides the most: formerly quick-tongued and irrepressible, he responds to his loss by withdrawing into himself, often bitter at what he sees as his failure and the gods that have abandoned him; you miss the adolescent Gen of The Thief. The magus of Sounis betrays one alliance in hopes of salvaging another. Even the queen of Eddis, as beloved as she is unbeautiful, is not even sure whether or not her actions are as honorable as she first thought them. It's a sure sign that the author is doing a good job when you hurt in sympathy with the characters! But all is not lost: while there's much to endure before peace comes to Eddis and Eugenides both, there is also a very good story. Turner keeps the tension high and never lets the political intrigue outweigh the interactions between the characters, and there's even a tale of the old gods which serves as a kind of mirror to the action in the latter part of the story. (Also a twist halfway through which changes everything you thought about Eugenides' motives; it works, too.) All in all, like The Thief, The Queen of Attolia is one very good story of a convincing place that never was and people who, fictional or not, truly matter.

American Library Association Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Gen, the likable, slippery rogue of The Thief (1997), is back slipping easily through the secret passages and back rooms of the Queen of Attolia's palace. This time, to his amazement and dismay, he is caught because Attolia's guards seem to know his escape route as well as he does. Badly beaten and flung into a dank dungeon, he awaits his fate. Meanwhile, the Queen of Eddis cuts off the flow of water to Attolia, demanding the safe return of her thief. When Gen is returned alive but minus his right hand, the Queen of Eddis releases the water but orders her border troops to confiscate the goods of the next ten Attolian traders. Thus, war escalates between the two kingdoms, egged on by the unctuous, manipulative Mede ambassador to the Attolian court, whose nation covets both Attolia and Eddis. There's a great deal of political maneuvering and battling as well as individual angst on the part of the two queens and Gen, until Gen finally emerges from his self-imposed isolation to take part in resolving the conflict - by stealing the Queen of Attolia herself. Turner maintains her well-created world and believable characterizations in a tale (once again including only the slightest touch of magic) that is best suited to readers of the first one.

Awards, Reviews, and Editions. The Thief
Greenwillow Books, 1996
196 pages, ISBN 0-688-14627-9 $15.00

Newbery Honor Book Award, 1997.
American Library Association List of Notable Books, 1997.
Best Books for Young Adults, 1997 (Young Adult Library Services Association).
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Blue Ribbon List (Best books of 1996).
Horn Book Fanfare List (Best books of 1996).
Books for the Teen Age, 1997 (68th Annual Exhibition, Nathan Straus Young Adult Center, New York Public Library).
Selection of the Junior Library Guild.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Master List, 1997-98.

Quite simply, this was the best fantasy novel I read in 1997!

The Horn Book (starred review)

A tantalizing, suspenseful, exceptionally clever novel is set in a Mediterranean-like country called Sounis in a time when the old gods have just been supplanted. (So vivid are the geography and the details of daily life that the reader can easily believe in the existence of this imaginary landscape.) Gen, a thief languishing in the royal dungeons, is summarily reclaimed by the king's magus, who wants him to steal the unstealable: a legendary stone conferring the power of the throne of Eddis, a rival neighboring country, on its bearer. The magus and his companions set off, with Gen brought along as a "useful sort of tool," to find the remarkable maze/temple (underwater except for a few nights a year) inside which the stone is hidden; Gen has three chances to steal it, achieve a measure of fame - and remain alive. That's about as much plot as can be told, because it's Gen who is telling the story, and Gen is clearly not what he seems. The author's characterization of Gen is simply superb: she lets the reader know so much about him - his sense of humor, his egotism, his loyalty, his forthrightness, his tendency to sulk - and yet manages to hide the most essential information. Which is not to say that either Gen or Turner deceives the reader: both tell part of the truth at all times. And so, unlike many other novels of surprise, which don't bear up to a second reading, Thief is even more fun to reread - you can see all the clues to Gen's identity and mission and delight in the author's ingenuity.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

There is nothing that the thief cannot steal . . . except himself out of the king's prison. Fortunately, the king's magus assists Gen in this regard, enlisting him to steal Hamiathes's Gift, a legendary stone that will give the king leverage over neighboring monarchs. As Gen journeys with the magus and his two apprentices, Ambiades and Sophos (dubbed Useless the Elder and Useless the Younger by Gen), toward the temple maze that houses the Gift, Gen's wry humor and pithy commentary convince us to question his cohorts' motives. The ultimate irony is that we don't question the thief, which makes Turner's expertly foreshadowed but nonetheless surprise ending all the more elegantly effective. An original mythology, emphasizing the story of Eugenides, the god of thieves for whom Gen was named, drives the intricate politics of the novel; the intervention of the gods and goddesses on an incredulous Gen's behalf is deftly incorporated. While the tangle of personal and national histories and mythologies is occasionally unclear, Gen's wit and wile overshadow such technicalities. To miss this thief's story would be a crime.

School Library Journal:

Gr 6 Up - Things are not what they seem in this story of wit, adventure, and philosophy. Gen, an accomplished thief incarcerated for stealing the king's seal, is dragged from his cell by the king's magus, who is on a quest. The prize is Hamiathes's Gift, said to be a creation of the gods that confers the right of rule on the wearer. During the quest, the magus and Gen take turns telling the youngest member of their party myths about the Eddisian god of thieves. Turner does a phenomenal job of creating real people to range through her well-plotted, evenly paced story. No one is entirely evil or completely perfect. Gen is totally human in his lack of discipline, seeming lack of heroism, and need for sleep and food. The magus makes the transition from smug, superior scholar to decent guy in a believable fashion. Turner also does a neat job of puncturing lots of little prejudices. There are many deft lessons in this story. As absorbing as it is, the best part lies in the surprise ending. Though it is foreshadowed throughout, it is not obvious - its impact is more like morning sunlight than a lightning bolt. This book is sure to be a hot item with adventure and fantasy lovers, and YAs who like snide, quick-tempered, softhearted heroes will love Gen.

Kirkus Reviews (pointer review)

A thief's quest for a priceless gemstone forms the background for a tale of redemption, tolerance, and cooperation in this first novel from Turner (Instead of Three Wishes, 1995).

Gen the thief is released from prison in the imaginary medieval land of Sounis by the king's magus, on the condition that he join an expedition to recover the legendary Hamiathes's Gift Stone, said to be hidden in an elaborate maze underneath a river. For the chance at regaining his freedom, Gen agrees. The journey at first is fraught more with psychic than physical dangers: The magus and the other king's men on the trip - soldier Pol, aristocrats Sophos and Ambiades - insult Gen for his low birth and choice of profession, even denying him proper food and medical care. No adolescent will be able to ignore Gen's resentment, embarrassment, and pain, made palpable through Turner's compassion and crystalline prose. Similarly, Gen's narrative voice, at turns snide, sharp, then sad, will seem familiar to young adults. His ultimate discovery of the legendary stone and the clearing of his reputation are as grand as the fantastic myths the travelers tell on their fateful trip. This is an uplifting book, a literary journey that enriches both its characters and readers before it is over. (Fiction, 10+)

Publishers' Weekly

The bragging thief Gen is sprung from prison by the king in order to carry out a mission - steal the precious stone Hamiathes's Gift from an impossible hiding place. If he succeeds, he'll be rewarded. If he fails, he will be killed. If he runs away, he will be hunted down. Half prisoner, half outlaw legend, Gen goes along with the king's assistant in the risky plan. Set in a semi-Mediterranean realm of old and new gods and goddesses, this compelling adventure propels readers along through the enemy lands of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. Gen, a beguiling narrator, is afraid of horses but not of entering a locked labyrinth; he comes from a long line of thieves but puts honor first. Turner's (Instead of Three Wishes) device of having Gen and others tell god and godess stories around the campfire bumpily draws the reader away from the main story, yet the plot is strong enough to survive the wanderings. In addition to its charismatic hero, this story possesses one of the most valuable treasures of all - a twinkling jewel of a surprise ending.

American Library Association Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Set in a time long ago and far away, this first-person novel tells of a gifted young thief, imprisoned for life, who is offered one chance to win his freedom. If Gen can steal for the king's magus a legendary stone hidden in a mysterious temple, the magus will set him free. Portrayed as a likable rogue, Gen endures the difficult trek to the stone's hiding place with much complaining and little grace, but shows his mettle when he steals the stone twice and risks his life for his companions. Still, the revelation of Gen's identity surprises the magus (and readers) even more than his deeds. From the believable characters to the well-realized setting, this fantasy offers a refreshing change of pace for readers who enjoy adventure stories with a touch of magic.

KLIATT Reviews.

A 1997 Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Best Book for YAs, this is an exceptional adventure story that is a perfect choice for just about every YA, especially in middle school. Above all, Whalen has created an intricate, superb plot that excites the reader and demands involvement. I won't dwell on the plot details here, except to assure you that action and suspense prevail. The setting and placement in a historical context are slightly mystifying, in a tantalizing way, and the author explains some of this in an endnote. Because the setting is frequently the product of Whalen's imagination, the novel could be placed in the fantasy category, but I hesitate to do that because it may discourage some readers. The actual journey the thief undertakes is over quite realistic terrain based on the Greek countryside, and the use of horses, swords and knives (though there is the appearance of a primitive gun) puts the story sometime in the past. Whalen has created a mythological framework all her own that is compelling to us and to the young thief, Eugenides, known as Gen. And Gen is a memorable character we can admire for his wit, intelligence, and sense of honor. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. Reviewed by Claire Rosser.

"Too Good To Miss," a column in Children's Books

The Thief fits the international focus of this column with its fantasy setting in a land much like ancient Greece. Aptly titled, this novel is filled with stealth, intrigue, and high adventure. Ostensibly, Gen is a thief liberated from his jail cell to perform a special mission: obtain a powerful treasure for the kind. Gen accompanies the king's magus, a guard, and two of the magus's apprentices on a dangerous journey to another kingdom to the site where the magus believes the treasure is located. Readers who follow the numerous twists of this suspenseful plot will find themselves breathing a sigh of relief more than once, only to find that there is more to the story than first appears. The resolution offers a satisfying, if surprising, conclusion to what turns out to be a mystery that one may feel compelled to reread for the clues first overlooked.

Children's Book and Play Review

This is an adventure/fantasy with excellent characterization that treats the question of loyalties. It also asks: "What is the value of reading, writing, and the study of history, languages, and cultures?" Gen discovers that the dual brain-and-brawn combination outwits the singular emphasis of one or the other.

"Books to borrow, books to buy," syndicated column

Filled with suspense, adventure, intrigue, and surprise. Readers will devour this fascinating novel, leaving little doubt as to why this novel by Megan Whalen Turner has been awarded the prestigious Newbery Honor.

The Companion

The legends about the god of thieves are woven skillfully into the plot and add a new dimension to the main character. The surprise ending tops off a wonderful book and makes the reader wonder why he or she didn't figure it out sooner. A great choice for fantasy lovers everywhere.

Awards and Reviews, Instead Of Three Wishes
Greenwillow Books, 1995
132 pages, ISBN 0-688-13922-1 $15.00

Booklist Editors' Choice List (Best books of 1995)
1996-97 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Master List.

The New York Times Book Review (5 November 1995), "Bookshelf", p. 31:

Here's an ebullient collection of seven stories, some magical and some not. The title story is about what happened when Selene met the elf prince, who had come into town to open a bank account. Delightful.

Kirkus Reviews (pointer review)

An utterly delightful collection of short stories about enchantment in everyday life. They include "The Nightmare," in which a hooligan is forced to see himself through other people's eyes; "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits," about the search for treasure in a painting come to life; and the title story, about a girl who isn't interested in the wishes she is granted by an elf prince in a business suit.

Each story is a perfectly crafted, captivating little gem; most demonstrate a dry sense of humor, and all have a dose of irony running through the author's fluid prose. Nothing is overdone and not a word is out of place in this auspicious debut.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:

Seven short stories play upon varying themes of magic and its intrusion into everyday contemporary life: a bullying boy gets what he asks for when he tells an old lady to give him whatever she's got; a capable girl drives an elf king to distraction by refusing his gifts; an African-American boy becomes a hero in prehistoric Sweden. The most intriguing and ambitious story, "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits," has enough material for a couple of novels, but succeeds as a kind of fantastic spin on Konigsburg's From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Turner employs an assortment of folk- and fairytale elements with freshness and ease, avoiding the cuteness that has plagued the post-Stinky Cheese era; her deployment of fantastic elements into realistic settings has a bracing matter-of-factness. Zippy dialogue makes the collection a natural readaloud; fans of Joan Aiken and Anne Lindbergh will enjoy the twists and turns. (Roger Sutton)

The Horn Book

These seven deftly told tales share a common theme of the meeting of magic and everyday life. The stories are fresh and unusual: "Leroy Roachbane" tells the story of a young boy who uses his modern-day, urban-bred proficiency at killing cockroaches to become a hero when he finds himself in prehistoric Sweden; in "The Nightmare," a bully is transformed when he realizes the power of dreams. Sightings of little green men in New Hampshire lead to a tabloid stampede in "A Plague of Leprechaun"; and two lonely people - one from the past and one from the future - find each other in a ghostly "Factory." In the title story, a skeptical young woman turns down an elf prince's offer of three wishes, and ends up fulfilling her heart's desire instead.

The first-time author combines a shrewd wit with an eye for the endearingly absurd. A fine debut. (Sarah Guille)

School Library Journal

Seven short stories in which fantasy mingles with the everyday lives of ordinary people. In the first, a leprechaun sighting brings an excess of tourists to a small New England village. In the next, a boy goes back in time and makes himself a hero by claiming to be a killer of roaches. In "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits," a girl is sent into a painting to search for a missing object that turns out to be a selkie skin. In the title story, an elf owes three wishes to a girl who keeps rejecting his efforts. In "The Baker King," a kingdom keeps waiting for its prince to return and finds that he is there all the time - but in the most unlikely place. Each selection has an unexpected twist at the end that will surprise readers but that logically fits the tale. Turner does a fine job of creating time and place and imbues the selections with a mild humor that will elicit gentle chuckles and smiles. Some of the stories are stronger than others, and not all of them will appeal to the same audience, but all are readable and the best are very good. Several would also make excellent choices for reading aloud.

American Library Association Booklist (starred review)

Gr. 4-6. In this collection of seven short stories, magic crops up in unexpected places. A leprechaun roams the hills of New Hampshire; calling himself Leroy Roachbane, a black boy travels back in time to his spiritual home in prehistoric Sweden, where he rids the village lodge of roaches; a young factory worker finds his vision of heaven while working the high crane and chooses to become a ghost in the rafters; an elf prince has an unexpectedly hard time granting wishes to a young woman in Ontario. Each story varies in tone and setting from the one before it, and each illuminates our world with some light from past history or tradition. The real magic here is Turner's ability to convince readers that the realms of fairy tales can intersect contemporary life. The result is no humorless blend of traditional elements with modern culture, but an often witty recognition of eternal truth spiced with temporal incongruities. A refreshing first book, this introduces Turner as an entertaining, original storyteller with something to say.

Booklist Editor's Choice '95

Magic crops up in unexpected places in this entertaining collection of seven stories that vary in tone and setting. They provide an often witty recognition of eternal truths spiced with temporal incongruities as readers are convinced that the realms of fairy tales can intersect with contemporary life.

Publishers' Weekly

Princes in disguise, royal elves and book-loving ghosts all play a part in the seven stories of this intermittently promising collection. Throughout, debut author Turner's style is expansive, allowing for mood-setting details and for occasionally sharp wit, but most of her plots follow familiar, predictable patterns. As a rural town fills up with leprechaun-hunters in "A Plague of Leprechaun," for example, it's easily foreseen that the sole disinterested party, an art school graduate intent on pursuing his craft, will end up with the little fellow's bad of gold. On the other hand, the entry "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" is a stand-out. This carefully framed narrative unfolds slowly and suspensefully to reveal a series of puzzles, their settings ranging from an underpopulated island off North Carolina to Canaletto's Venice, their marvelous resolution followed by a denouement of near-equal magic. The inventiveness and control shown here augur well for Turner's future endeavors.

KLIATT Reviews

In this delightful collection of fractured fairy tales, the author takes traditional stories and turns them on their heads. A New Hampshire town is turned upside-down by a leprechaun hunt, but the man who finds him is more interested in art than in gold. A lonely young man in a futuristic factory finds love and belonging in the ghost of a girl who once lived in the house that was torn down. There is a magical tale of a trip through an Italian painting, and the stirring saga of the great prehistoric Swedish hero, Leroy Roachbane of ChicagoIllinoy. The title story concerns an elf-king and a very modern girl who doesn't want three wishes or the traditional castle, coach or handsome prince that are the usual rewards for saving royalty. The elf-king decides he will reward the girl if it kills him, and in the process of granting her wish he manages to grant his own mother's as well. The stories were written for the author's young son, and they should charm and delight any child old enough to enjoy the fairy-tale variations, as well as any adult granted the privilege of reading them aloud. Highly recommended for all collections. KLIATT Codes: J*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. Reviewed by Deirdre B. Root.

Children's Literature Review

This is a collection of seven magical stories by the Newbery Honor author. Each story is fresh and thought provoking with unexpected results: a teenage girl is surprised when she refuses three wishes offered by the elf prince; a young hoodlum harasses an old lady and creates his own nightmare; a young girl goes into an oil painting to help an old woman3Ú4and much more. Young readers will be delighted at the way everyday life and fairy tales intersect in these stories. Reviewed by Cheryl Peterson.

Book Report, Worthington, Ohio, December 1995

Each story in this collection of seven short stories is a delightful example of magic in the lives of everyday people. The author's writing style helps the reader easily suspend disbelief. Settings are varied. In a "Plague of Leprechaun" we learn the havoc that is caused by reports of a leprechaun sighting in a small town in New Hampshire. In "Leroy Roachbane," a black youth is transported from the roach-infested slums of Chicago to the snowy terrain of Sweden, where his skill at stamping out roaches makes him a hero. Ghosts and young love play a part in the magic of "The Factory." "Aunt Charlotte and the NGA Portraits" is a magical story that transports a young girl from North Carolina to Venice of a long time ago and changes a woman into a seal. In the title story, "Instead of Three Wishes," an elf prince tries to pay a debt of kindness with the usual three wishes, but the recipient isn't cooperating. It takes some unusual measures to finally fulfill the debt. A good addition to a young adult fantasy collection, this book will also appeal to adult readers. Recommended. Kathleen Curdy Schwah, Library Media Specialist, Battle Ground (Washington) High School.

Girls' Life, "Haunting Horror Stories," Baltimore, Maryland, November 1995

Magic lurks in the pages of this book. A leprechaun turns a whole town upside-down, a boy travels in time to battle cockroaches, a girl enters a painting to solve a puzzle, and a boy's trouble turns into a nightmare. This collection of stories may not be all that scary, but they provide supernatural thrills just the same.

News & Record, Greensboro, North Carolina 3 September 1995, Myla Barnhardt, "Ancient fairy tale (Three Wishes) with a modern twist."

If you've exhausted the classical fairy tales, you'll find Megan Whalen Turner's modern day make-believe refreshing. Instead of Three Wishes (Greenwillow Books, $15, ages 8-12) is a collection of seven short stories that foray into magical wonders that touch ordinary people. There's the young girl on vacation on Ocracoke Island who magically swims into a painting to find a very special fur coat, and the painter in New Hampshire who discovers a leprechaun while painting mountain landscapes. Perhaps the most enchanting tale is about a young girl who offers to help a confused older gentleman cross a busy street. The man turns out to be an elf prince and he promptly offers the young girl the customary three wishes. When she can't decide on a wish, she allows him to select one for her. But her whims aren't so easily discerned. The prince, sent to marry her, is a bit of a bore. A golden coach with six black horses doesn't fit in the garage and a palace is much too showy for the neighborhood. It takes months of careful observation before the elf can finally fulfill a wish 20th-century style.

Turner may give her stories a modern spin but she doesn't sacrifice the quintessence of fairy tales. Though she stretches the parameters of "once upon a time" and "happily ever after," she still provides a setting where good triumphs over evil and valiant characters prevail. More importantly, Turner guarantees imaginations a vigorous work-out.

Kendal Rautzhan (syndicated columnist: Springfield, VA Fairfax Journal; El Paso, Texas Herald-Post; Sharon, Pennsylvania Herald, Topeka, Kansas Capital-Journal, etc.):

There are some who say leprechauns do exist. More people than not will tell you they don't. But Roger Otterly knows the truth, yet he chooses to reveal it in his own unique way.

Leroy Roachbane is a first-rate roach killer. His mother, who has an extreme dislike of the ugly, prehistoric bugs, depends on Leroy to make the big kill in the mornings in their pantry. On his way to school, Letroy has a mishap with his bicycle, which leaves him fighting off cockroaches in ancient Sweden, a place he has always wished to go. Was he really there, or was it his imagination (along with the bump on his head)? Selene is a girl with wishes of her own. She wishes that she and her infirm mother didn't have to scrape so hard to make ends meet, and she wishes that she could go to culinary school and immerse herself in her greatest love and talent: cooking. But Selene is too practical to spend her days wishing them away, so when she is approached by a prince elf who is obliged to repay Selene's kindness by offering her three wishes. Selene doesn't know how to respond.

These and several other short stories are compiled in this wonderful collection of everyday places and the unique and magical things that happen to people there. Each story has a surprise twist to it, leaving readers very delighted, most satisfied and thinking a little bit harder about their own dreams, desires, and wishes.

Association for Childhood Education International

The reader's imagination will be piqued by the magical events woven into this whimsical seven-story collection, which is filled with leprechauns, factories, kings, and wishes. Each story has a surprise twist ending that is exciting and inventive.

Susan Weitz, "Cool Weather Reading"

It's hard to believe that Instead of Three Wishes (Greenwillow) is Megan Whalen Turner's first book. These expertly-turned, witty and intelligent short stories - each with a hint or dollop of the supernatural - range from droll to eerie to thoughtful to deeply touching. I'm especially fond of the title story, which features a grumpy elf prince who finds himself unwillingly indebted to a down-to-earth teenager. And there's Leroy the city boy who is somehow transported to Viking-era Sweden, where he saves King Wiglaff from an infestation of roaches. A boy falls in love with a ghost, museum portraits come to life, and a king pretends to be a baker pretending to be a king. It's a superlative collection which should appeal to ages seven or eight up to, say, a hundred.

Deirdre B. Root, YA Services Kliatt:

In this delightful collection of fractured fairy tales, the author takes traditional stories and turns them on their heads. A New Hampshire town is turned upside-down by a leprechaun hunt, but the man who finds him is more interested in art than in gold. A lonely young man in a futuristic factory finds love and belonging in the ghost of a girl who once lived in the house that was torn down. There is a magical tale of a trip through an Italian painting, and the stirring saga of the great prehistoric Swedish hero, Leroy Roachbane of ChicagoIllinoy. The title story concerns an elf-king and a very modern girl who doesn't want three wishes or the traditional castle, coach or handsome prince that are the usual rewards for saving royalty. The elf-king decides he will reward the girl if it kills him, and in the process of granting her wish he manages to grant his own mother's as well. The stories were written for the author's young son, and they should charm and delight any child old enough to enjoy the fairy-tale variations, as well as any adult granted the privilege of reading them aloud.

Patricia C. Wrede, author of Dealing With Dragons.

A gem of a book - or rather, a string of gems. Every story shines, some with humor, and some with adventure, and all of them with magic.

Author's note to The King of Attolia

As ever, the stories about Attolia, Sounis, and Eddis are fiction. There is no history here. This does not mean that representations of people and events from the reael world have not crept in, but even those have been subject to fictionalization. There was poet named Archilochus in the seventh century BC. We still have fragments of his poems, bu the verse quoted in the book is not his. There was a playwright named Aristophanes who wrote comedies with titles like The Birds and The Frogs. I don't know that he ever wrote one entirely about farmers, but if he had, it would have been very funny indeed. The gods I describe aren't real, either. I made them up. The landscapes that surround the stories are based on the actual landscape of modern Greece and on what I imagine ancient Greece to have looked liked. But the setting isn't Greece, and it isn't meant to be ancient. With firearms and pocket watches, window glass and printed books, I hope it is more Byzantine than archaic.

Author's note to The Queen of Attolia

The landscape of Attolia and Sounis and even Eddis are much like the landscape that surrounds the Mediterranean sea. I have taken bits and pieces of the region and its history and fitted them into my story, but the story is fiction. Nothing in it is historically accurate. The gods and the goddesses in my book are not those of the Greek or any other Pantheon. I made them up. The Mede Empire is also my own invention.

In the real world there have been many empires that have risen and fallen while attempting to surround and control the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians, the Egyptians, and the Myceneans were some of the earliest. The Persians, in the fifth century B.C. tried to extend their empire to the Greek Peninsula and failed twice. They were defeated at the battle of Marathon and then at the battle of Salamis. The Romans managed to hold the Mediterranean for five hundred years and in the process exported their gods and insisted they replace at least officially the gods native to different parts of their empire.

After the Romans came the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic States, the trade empires of Italian City states and the Ottoman empire which did not disappear until the twentieth century when the powerful nations of the european continent contrived to defeat and divide it.

Author's note to The Thief

Nothing in The Thief is historically accurate, but I have taken bits and pieces out of the history of Greece and fitted them into my story. The landscape that Gen travels through is very much like that of ancient Greece and like some parts of modern Greece as well. The gods he meets were never the gods of the Greek Pantheon. There was a god of fire, Hephestus, who became the Roman god Vulcan and gave his name to Volcanoes. I changed the name to Hephestia and used it for my ruling goddess, and called the volcanoes the Hephestial Mountains, but my goddess and the Greek god really don't have much in common. He was the jealous husband of Aphrodite and was always low in the hierarchy of the gods.

Whether Moira was a Greek god is a fuzzier question. Her name means "Fate" and she was sometimes personified as the messenger of the three fates who were spinning and weaving the fate of the world. Sometimes she was one of the fates, but she was never described as she is in The Thief. Asklepios, to whom the palace physician swore an oath to use his powers for healing, is another mythic figure. He was supposed to have been the son of Apollo and a mortal princess. He was educated by the centaur Cheiron and was skillful enough to resuscitate the dead. Hades and Zeus were anxious to keep the power of the gods for the gods alone and Zeus sent a thunderbolt to strike Asklepios and kill him. Nonetheless, he became the god of medicine and was pictured carrying a staff with a magic serpent wrapped around it, and this is now a symbol for doctors all over the world.

Archimedes was real. He was a mathematician, mechanic, and physicist in the third century b.c His work survives to this day. One of his theories was that a constant amount of water must pass each point in a river in a fixed amount of time. Therefore the water in a river runs fastest at its narrowest point. Gen had this in mind when he and the magus and Athonis crossed the rapids of the Seperchia.

Ancient Greece had many more trees and better soil than modern Greece has. Thousands of years ago the forests were logged and the soil eroded, leaving much of Greece rocky, but even in the poor soil, olive trees thrive. Between the shore of the Corinthian Gulf and the ancient site of the Oracle at Delphi there are eleven miles of olive groves, called the sea of olives. There isn't, as far as I know, anything like the dystopia.

In the city of Sounis that I described there were once walls that defended the road between the city and its harbor. The city of Athens in Greece had walls like these. Stones from these walls were used to build various parts of the city, but there are still signs of them today, something like two thousand years after they were built. There is a lion gate like the one in Sounis, in the ruins of the city of Mycenae which was real. Meneleus was king of Mycenae. Helen of Troy was abducted from there. Its ruins are on the eastern most peninsula of the Peloponnese, that little hand-shaped piece of land attached to the mainland of Greece. The gate is just as described by the thief. Carved into a solid stone lintel, most of the detail has worn away and it is impossible to tell if the figures are really lions. They may have been griffins like those I mentioned on either side of the Eddissian throne. Those griffins are like the ones painted on the walls beside the throne in the palace of Knossos on the island Crete. The walls of Knossos were also decorated with paintings of swallows and lilies and a mural called the Great Procession. The civilization that built that palace was older than the one at Mycenae. It was obliterated, some people think by a volcano erupting in the Mediterranean around fourteen fifty b.c. The ruins of its many many rooms may have been the source of the myth of the Minotaur and the maze.

The megaron at Mycenae was nowhere near as elaborate as Knossos. It was just a single room with stone walls, a throne, a circular hearth in the middle of it, and a porch outside. It was built at the top of a hill so that it would be easy to defend from enemies. Beside it was a temple. The road that led from the walls of the town up the hill to the temple was called the Sacred Way. Most of the ancient towns of Greece had a megaron for their king, and a temple for their patron deity and a Sacred Way, as well as strong stone walls. Mycenae was abandoned before it grew very big, but if it had survived it might have become a city like Sounis, and its Megaron might have grown into a palace like the king's.

There were three different kinds of Greek Temples: the Tholos, which was round and had columns around the outside, the In Antis, which was small and square and only had a column or two in front, and the Peripteral, which was rectangular and surrounded by columns. The Parthenon is an example of a Peripteral temple dedicated to Athena. It has two porches, one at either end. One porch leads to the pronaos, which in turn leads to the naos which was the main room of the temple and held a statue of Athena. The other porch leads to the opisthodomos which was the treasure room. Rooms like these were what Gen expected to find in the temple in the dystopia.

The fibula pins that Gen's grandfather used to steal to leave on the altar were shaped like wishbones, or like the bones in the bottom part of your leg. One shaft of the pin was driven through the fabric and then the open end hooked closed. What I don't know is if the pins are called fibulas because they are like the shape of the fibula bone or if the fibula bone is called what it is because it reminded somebody of the shape of these pins.