Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Merryll of the stones (UQP young adult fiction)

Merryll of the stones (UQP young adult fiction)
reviewed on + 201 more book reviews


Megan Ellison, sole survivor of an automobile accident that took the lives of her parents, awakens in hospital, haunted by dreams and vague memories. Teen-aged Megan has grown up in Australia, but on her recovery must return to the family's native Wales. Her frightening dreams persist until she meets Em, a young man who introduces her to Welsh legends. Through the ruins of a stone circle she goes back in time to that legendary period and becomes the princess Merryll, using magic gifts she didn't know she had, to lead her people to defeat a magician-tyrant.

The unusual thing about this book is that throughout Megan-Merryll remembers the modern world she came from - the desire for world peace and democracy, the fear of nuclear weapons, the use of science rather than magic, etc. - and eventually decides to return to it, rather than become a medieval-type ruler.

The ending is enigmatic, and I'm not sure how much of the story relates to real legends, but it was an enjoyable YA read.