The Tapestry

Nothing is ever as it seems.

Selina is a young girl who has known loss. When we meet her she is dressing her grandmother’s body in preparation for the woman’s funeral. As she explains, she came to live with her grandmother when both of her parents were killed by some sort of plague. While Selina had her basic needs of food and shelter provided for, the woman to whom she was sent to live with after the passing of her parents, gave little in the way of affection. She was in no way mean to Selina, she was simply a woman resigned to her lot in life. That lot was one that included penance for her sins to the church. In a sense, her grandmother lived her life working for the church, paying the price for a long ago “sin”, simply so that she would be provided last rites and receive a proper Christian burial.

While the woman was accepting of this life, Selina was not for herself. She knew that more existed.

Still a young girl with no one to care for her after her grandmother died, the church found her a home that would take her in. On the surface it seemed that Selina would be once again working for a recluse of an old woman with little contact with the life outside of the home she worked in. Once arrived at her new home Selina would enter into a mystery in which she couldn’t even believe.

Nothing was ever as it seemed, as she was told when first entering her new home.

I loved every second of reading this novel. I couldn’t put it down. It was a very engaging read and I hope for more by this author.

I love hisotircal fiction and I loved this book. The story was compellling and from the very first page I was hooked. The Tapestry is a story within a story that takes place in midieval England. Although the book is plot driven the reader does come to know the main character, Selina, quite well. Her need for family and companionship drive her to do what she needs to do. More information about how Selina was chosen as the one is left unsaid except for the briefest explanantion. The reader is also not privy to how she became who she is and how she bacame the vessel for the magic to fight the sorceress. Overall it is a compelling and fast read. Enjoyable to the end.

3.5/5 Stars
If you have ever truly read a classic fairytale, not one that has been modernized, you will see that The Tapestry perfectly captured the tone and cadence of these classic fairytales and folktales. And as I read it, it was reminding me a little of The Twelve Dancing Princesses or the Bear and the Nightingale. But it also reminded me a little bit of the classic gothic story, Rebecca because of the mystery and the way we are solely being doled out details.
The descriptions in this story were truly beautiful. It was so easy to paint a picture in my mind while reading.
This story was interesting because there were aspects of it that caused me to like it and simultaneously not like it. For instance, the long winded, overexplaining monologues from characters. I've definitely seen this occurring in other fairytales or folktales, but it is still weird to see when we are now so used to shorter back and forths between characters.
Overall, I did enjoy this story and its premise and the beautiful descriptions. But I think if you see this review and know walking into it that the prose is going to be different from what we are used to seeing, you may end up liking it more.

This book was fantastic!
One reviewer said “nothing is as it seems”.
That’s is the perfect way to describe this book. I loved this book and will be adding a physical copy to our library and recommend to all middle school readers. The Tapestry reminded me of reading a classic fairytale and I found I didn’t miss a modernized version of this story. I also found that I really connected and got to know Selina.

My only “complaint” (I’m not sure if I would consider it that) was how longwinded some parts were but since this is reminiscent of medieval England, it didn’t bother me too much.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and Selina’s journey. It was a beautifully written, detailed and magical journey.