I, Coriander- Book Review

Sally Gardner

I started reading this book in June, and finished it last week. (This book is scary in many parts, that is why I took so long). This book is about a girl's life set in London, near the Thames river, in the 17th century during when Oliver Cromwell defeated the Royalists and beheaded the King: King Charles I, and after a while King Charles II also challenges Oliver Cromwell, but loses the challenge and escapes to France with a price on his head. This story is tangled with history. Coriander's father helps King Charles II escape to France, and before getting arrested, he goes with the King to France. when Oliver Cromwell died in 1658, his son, Richard Cromwell took over, but was not good in leadership. General Monck, Oliver Cromwell's good friend and supporter foresaw that England was about to have another civil war, called King Charles II to come and rule England.

In this story, a girl lives a happy life, until her mother dies. Her father marries another time, and leaves to escape to France. Meanwhile, Coriander's stepmother brings her preacher and does a few changes to the house. Coriander, at first, thought that there was only one world; she found out that there was a magical world, and a dark world too. It is about the story of her life in all these three worlds. I 

This book has a mix of many genres, but it is mainly fantasy. This book has a lot of old English words, like Master, Mistress, Thine, Thy, Naught, Has Seen Fit, Nigh, etc. It has a very good vocabulary level, and is also a very addictive (for instance you keep on reading it) book. No wonder it has won a couple of awards. I recommend this book to kids of age 11 to 18. They should read books like this if they want to build their Medieval English vocabulary.

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