Title: Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen
Author: Mark J. Grant
Publisher: Mascot Books
ISBN: 978-1-62086-357-2
Pages: 240, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Young Adult/Children’s Book/Fantasy
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
“It was now quite clear to Lila that neither Mama nor Papa could see Mr. Fluffy, though why this was she could not understand, but perhaps it had something to do with age and the difficulties it brought to people as they got older.” Six-year-old Lila, in this children’s fantasy by Mark J. Grant, is the proud of owner of an invisible dog who will change her life.
This book is told from three perspectives, that of Lila and each of her parents, this is a fantasy story that breaks the mold. Lila is a rather happy child, though an only child, who longs for a dog, so she “invents” an imaginary canine companion. Lila is not destined to explore her fantasyland alone; there is no sense of alienation here of the Alice or Dorothy sort. When she enters her enchanted parallel world, she will do so comfortably accompanied by Mama and Papa. In the course of the story, meant as the first in a series, we see the family adjusting together to the gradual changes. First is the “arrival” of Mr. Fluffy, an invisible Aussie who seems to be able to “speak” to Lila and to be visible to her alone, although, for some strange reason, the cats do not like him. The cats’ hissing is the first hint that the canine is something other than a figment of Lila’s active imagination. When the family suddenly finds itself in another world, talking to an ancient elf-like gentleman named Ragnar; things begin to go very much awry. The meetings with elves increase as the understanding of why they are there and how they are connected specifically to Lila herself is revealed. There is a pleasant and often amusing contrast between the normal, earthly lives of the family and the contortions they must go through in order to get along in the Elven kingdom with its ancient protocols. In the end we learn that Lila is very special indeed and that Mr. Fluffy is not just a happy-go-lucky Aussie.
The book is illustrated with a few black and white cartoons, and the story is told in plain sensible language accessible to an intelligent six-year-old or older child. The appeal is to girls and even adults young at heart. Author Mark J. Grant generally writes about finance, but he has stepped out of that box to explore his fascination with legends and fairy tales. In Lila he has woven threads of the Icelandic sagas and myths into a modern setting.
Lila: the Sign of the Elven Queen is a beautifully written book that quickly draws the reader into a gentle, enchanted space with believable “real” people and a host of fascinating fantasy characters. It would be a fun read-out-loud book for parents, too.
The spare, sensitive style is excellent, the characters believable, the ending just surprising enough, and the inner life of the novel is sheer poetry. Mark J. Grant tells a timeless tale which proves that girls never really change. Times change, and surroundings change, but girls never really change. I truly believe that “a fairy lives in every girl’s heart.”
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