Heartseeker

by Melinda Beatty

Overview

A vibrant fantasy-adventure debut about a girl who can see lies.

You're a Fallow of the Orchard. You're as tough as a green apple in summer . . .

Only Fallow was just six harvests old when she realized that not everyone sees lies. For Only, seeing lies is as beautiful as looking through a kaleidoscope, but telling them is as painful as gnawing on cut glass. Only's family warns her to keep her cunning hidden, but secrets are seldom content to stay secret.

When word of Only's ability makes its way to the King, she's plucked from her home at the orchard and brought to the castle at Bellskeep. There she learns that the kingdom is plagued by traitors, and that her task is to help the King distinguish between friend and foe. But being able to see lies doesn't necessarily mean that others aren't able to disguise their dishonesty with cunnings of their own.

In the duplicitous, power-hungry court, the truth is Only's greatest weapon . . . and her greatest weakness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524740009
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	551,082
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 0.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Melinda Beatty has had years of practice trying to explain to others why she was just having an imaginary conversation between two people that don't exist, so becoming a writer seemed like the best way to stop everyone looking at her funny. After years of narrowboat living on the English canals, she and her British husband are now back on dry land in Maryland where by day, she's a mild-mannered Indie bookseller, and by night, she wrangles words, craft projects, a Labrador and two fierce mini-women. Heartseeker is her debut novel.

Read an Excerpt

HEARTSEEKER
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Heartseeker"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Melinda Beatty.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

04/23/2018
In an elegantly written debut filled with adventure and coming-of-age challenges, Beatty introduces readers to a fraught new world. From the time she was seven, Only Fallow has known she was different. She can see the lies people tell as colors, an ability her grandmother begs her to keep hidden. After her two new friends are kidnapped by the king’s men, Only’s protected life begins to unravel, beginning with the disappearance of her eldest brother and culminating in her summons to the capital to serve as a royal Mayquin, or truth seeker. The journey to the king is fraught with danger, betrayal, and an introduction to a world far bigger and more interesting than Only’s family farm. Only’s transition from a pampered younger daughter to a young woman, newly aware of discrimination and injustice, is conveyed with persuasive nuance. Beatty creates a cast of memorable characters and entrancingly vivid settings, immersing readers in a magical realm worth revisiting. Ages 8–up. Agent: Jen Linnan, Linnan Literary Management (June)

Publishers Weekly

"A smart, captivating fantasy-adventure that will leave readers hungry for more." —Booklist

"In this stunning debut novel, Beatty crafts a world rich with its own mythology and filled with strong heroes. This well-developed and original fantasy is a must-have for any middle grade collection." —School Library Journal

"Only’s transition from a pampered younger daughter to a young woman, newly aware of discrimination and injustice, is conveyed with persuasive nuance. Beatty creates a cast of memorable characters and entrancingly vivid settings, immersing readers in a magical realm worth revisiting." —Publishers Weekly

"As high fantasy has skewed older in recent years, it's refreshing to see one that's solidly middle-grade, helmed by a believable 11-year-old whose growth in savvy and understanding of her own privilege come naturally." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
Gr 4–6—Only Fallow has a unique gift: she can see lies as a shimmer of color around the teller. Telling a lie of her own, however, brings unimaginable pain. She is warned by her family to keep this power a secret, but soon the king learns of her ability and sends his men to bring Only to his castle. When she arrives, she learns just how wide the seeds of discord within the kingdom have been sown and how deeply fixed their roots have become. It is her job to help the king identify friends from foes. As Only becomes further embroiled in the castle intrigue, she determines the only way to save herself and her family is to stay in the service of the king. With enemies who have their own particular cunning, Only has the truth to protect her—and the truth to do her harm. In this stunning debut novel, Beatty crafts a world rich with its own mythology and filled with strong heroes. VERDICT This well-developed and original fantasy is a must-have for any middle grade collection.—Wayne R. Cherry Jr., St. Pius X High School, Houston

School Library Journal

2018-04-25
An 11-year-old who can see lies is dragged from her family orchard into the cesspit of royal politics.It's not her secret magical "cunning" that sets Only Fallow apart from the other girls in her rural community, it's her parents' relative wealth. The other girls have been cruel to her ever since her family started selling cider to the king way up in Bellskeep. Thank goodness she makes friends among the boat-dwelling Ordish. Prejudice against the Ordish is extreme—the king orders many of their children kidnapped into servitude—but these itinerant farmworkers are lovely to Only and her brothers. When a child-stealer nabs Only's Ordish friends, her secret is out: Only can see deception. Such a power, not seen since times long past, would be invaluable to the crown, and an inquisitor comes to take Only away. When she arrives at Bellskeep after a miserable journey, she's instantly thrust into a complex web of power games, manipulation, and cruelty. The violence being fomented against the nomadic, magic-using, and romanticized Ordish frightens Only and makes no sense to her. This generic, vaguely European fantasy kingdom is a largely white one, with a handful of darker-skinned foreigners from South Asian-ish Achery who may play larger roles in sequels. As high fantasy has skewed older in recent years, it's refreshing to see one that's solidly middle-grade, helmed by a believable 11-year-old whose growth in savvy and understanding of her own privilege come naturally.This series opener dances compellingly along the border separating its young, naïve heroine from harsh political realities. (Fantasy. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews

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