Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Not usually a lover of fantasy, but I quite liked this one! Check out the book trailer and review below.



Plain Kate, lives a simple life with her father a woodworker. A talented carver herself, Plain Kate is determined to become a master by age 20. Suspicious townsfolk fear Kate, her talent with her "witch blade" and her two different colored eyes. When a plague claims the lives of many, including her father, Kate is the target of the blame. With no place to go, no money and few friends in town Kate is pegged as the town's weakest and easiest prey by a mysterious stranger, Linay, who is witch-white and threatening. Kate is strong-armed into striking a bargain with the stranger - her shadow in exchange for much needed supplies and one wish. Without a shadow, it is certain Plain Kate would be condemned as a witch by the already wary townsfolk. Plain Kate takes off with a band of Roamers hoping for acceptance. Instead she becomes even more entangled in a web of magic and an elaborate plan of revenge. Well developed characters, who experience growth and change as the story progresses, drive this story to its bitter-sweet, if a little convenient, climax. Suggested for grades 6 & up.