Chandlefort: In the Shadow of the Bear

It has been just months since Clovermead Wickward discovered that she is really Demoiselle Cerelune Cindertallow -- daughter of Lady Melisande Cindertallow, the sovereign of Chandlefort -- and that the man she had called Father all her life was actually an embittered servant who stole her away when ......more

It has been just months since Clovermead Wickward discovered that she is really Demoiselle Cerelune Cindertallow -- daughter of Lady Melisande Cindertallow, the sovereign of Chandlefort -- and that the man she had called Father all her life was actually an embittered servant who stole her away when she was a baby. Since then, she has learned that she doesn't wholly care for life inside the walls of Chandlefort, and that she doesn't much like her mother's expectations for how a Demoiselle should behave -- especially the bit about not changing shape anymore. When you can turn into a bear, being forced to stay human can be deadly dull. Now Clovermead must confront dangerous secrets from her family's troubled past when a mysterious stranger appears in Chandlefort. Perhaps he is the old friend of Clovermead's real father, as he claims to be -- or perhaps an old enemy of the Cindertallows who seeks a final revenge. When Clovermead unintentionally puts her mother's life in mortal peril, her only chance to make amends and save the mother she has just begun to know is to set off on a dangerous journey to a distant abbey. The life of her mother, the salvation of Chandlefort, and the freedom of the bears enslaved by the overwhelming power of Lord Ursus all depend on Clovermead

In this intense and compelling sequel to "Clovermead," David Randall explores the strength of love, courage, and forgiveness in the battle of good and evil.(less)

the link above has some more information

While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has ......more

the link above has some more information

While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has raised her as if she were his own daughter. Clovermead's journey leads her into a battle between good and evil that allows her to see past society's many deceptions and find her own place in the adult world.

Jennifer Mattson, in a review of Clovermead for Booklist, commented on Randall's decision to add a dark side to his young heroine's personality, noting that it "puts an intriguing spin on the otherwise archetypal fantasy plot." A Kirkus Reviews contributo

the link above has some more information

While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has raised her as if she were his own daughter. Clovermead's journey leads her into a battle between good and evil that allows her to see past society's many deceptions and find her own place in the adult world.

Jennifer Mattson, in a review of Clovermead for Booklist, commented on Randall's decision to add a dark side to his young heroine's personality, noting that it "puts an intriguing spin on the otherwise archetypal fantasy plot." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Clovermead "vivacious, loquacious, precocious," and "a delightful heroine," while in School Library Journal, Jane G. Conner deemed the novel "a challenging high fantasy for those who can keep straight many details and forces, and who don't mind a good bit of violence." Dubbing Randall "a writer to watch," a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that Clovermead will attract "fantasy buffs" due to its "fast-paced plotting and the turn of events at the end."

In discussing his novel and its influences, Randall explained: "Clovermead looks with admiration to L.N. Montgomery, Lloyd Alexander, Ursula K. LeGuin, C.S. Lewis, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike my heroine, I am not twelve years old, blonde, or female, but I have been known to fence, and I am told we talk alike."

(an interview with David Randall

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