a sharp said:

“This book is a retelling of a classic fairy tale (possibly Grimm's) that's been in both the telling and print for a long time (not sure of its origin). But it's based off the story of a young girl who is left alone after a witch (their stepmother) casts a spell on her seven brothers to become swans. She escapes their fate but the only way to save them and turn them human again is to knit them sweaters made of a painful thistle type fabric which must be woven by hand, and all the time keep up an oath of silence.

There's a lot more to the story but this is the gist- Suffice it to say, I loved this book, it kept me up all night in the reading of it. The other two books in the series are also pretty good, however they aren't on par with 'Daughter of the Forest.'

I thought it was well written, I cared deeply for the characters and it gives you a good glimpse into a historical time period filled with superstition, faerie and folklore about old Ireland.”

posted Monday, June 23 2008