The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff

Dear Readers,

      I believe I have mentioned in the past that I am part of a organization at school called The Battle of The Books. This is probably the best extracurricular activity I have been in while at high school. Well, my team this year was super awesome and made it past the first online test onto a second oral test. We got 7th in the state out of about 90 schools that took it. So not to be cocky, but we are awesome. Since we get to take another test we are reading some of the books twice just so we know what happened. One of my friends has already read this one, but we are doubling up. So without any more of my explanation why I read the book I will tell you how I felt about The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff.

      Let me start out with a brief overview of the plot. The Bride's Farewell is the story of Pell. A young woman who lives in England. She was promised to be married to a boy she had known all her life, Birdie. The night before her wedding she ran off to find something different from life then a dull, boring marriage. Pell from a very young age had been able to work almost magic with horses. She runs off with her horse Jack and her younger brother Bean, in search of an exciting life. On this search her life repeatedly changes. Once she feels comfortable and fine in her surroundings something happens and she has to move again. The book is just the twist and turns of her life, from losing everything to finding an almost happy ending.
      The plot of this book made it a very quick read. Pell's story was very intriguing. It was hard to put the book down. Although the plot turns made it interesting, they were not my favorite. The story never seemed to stay the same for more then twenty pages. Also Pell to seemed changed every twenty pages. She only ever had to goals in mind. Find her brother and find her horse. Everything else that came her way on the journey didn't seem to phase her. At the beginning of the book it seems that she felt no remorse for leaving her family and fiance on the night before her wedding. It also seems that she feels no remorse for any of the people she hurts on her journey. She enconters so many new faces that the book is just a parade of new people.
      These new people, though somehow connnect. It's almost like a big game of Dutch Bingo across the English country side. This was the thing I liked most about the book. It was fun to see in which ways all of the characters were connected. There were some many under stories of the people that Pell met. She would meet one person who would tell her about a relative in another village that may be able to help her. Once there she would stay for a while, then leave then come across something or someone else. The relationships of the characters are what made this book so interesting.
       Overall I liked the book. I did not like some of the things the main character did, and I did not like some of the things the author decided to put in the book. But it wasn't awful. I was just another book, another story. Not the most memorable, but not completely forgetable. I would recomend this book if you like interesting plots, or horses, or a quick read.
 I would like to thank Meg Rosoff for taking me to the English countryside for a few afternoons.
Lindsey