The Left-Handed Fate by Kate Milford, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler.
Square Fish, Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan, New York, 2016, my edition 2017.
MG alternate world historical fantasy, 378 pages.
Lexile: 810L .
AR Level: 5.8 (worth 16.0 points) .
NOTE: This book is a direct sequel to Bluecrowne and the review will necessarily contain spoilers for that plot.
Finally back to her ship even if unfortunate circumstances brought them there, Melusine Bluecrowne (call her Lucy, please) and family are on a particular mission of discovery for a young philosopher, but studying science in the midst of war is dangerous. Teen Maxwell Ault is that natural philosopher, determined to carry out his deceased father’s mission. Oliver Dexter is a new midshipman determined to prove his mettle on his first command… even though he’s only just turned twelve. As their three paths cross, well they be able to assemble the war-stopping engine? And if so, who will gain control of this dangerous weapon?
Well, we’re four books deep into the world of Greenglass house as far as blog reviews, and while the series as a whole continues to be more diverse-adjacent than diverse (with the exception of the two books on Milo), I’m sort of committed to reading them now and also happen to love interconnected novels that aren’t necessarily a series, so I suppose I’ll go on reviewing them.
I wrote a bit in my review of Bluecrowne about how I accidentally purchased and read this book first, not understanding that it is indeed a direct sequel to that book. The publisher has done their bit to confuse readers by trying to promote Bluecrowne as the third book in the Greenglass House series (when really it’s more of a prequel and stands separately from the Greenglass books), and then initially promoting Thief Knot as a standalone (when really it’s quite dependent on knowledge, characters, and such from the two Greenglass books and reads like a continuation of that series with a different protagonist and slightly different setting).
Returning to this particular volume, The Left-Handed Fate takes a different tack to any of the other books I’ve read so far. First, while they do make landfall at times, the majority of the book takes place on the boat where Lucy’s made her home most of her life. Second, it’s rather more historical than any of the other books. Bluecrowne also was set in the past, and Milo’s books delve into Nagaspeake’s history, but this book is set around the War of 1812, which is an actual historical event that gives the story a somewhat different feel.
However, there are also fireworks (Liu’s involved), strange unexplainable things (especially when docking at Nagaspeake), and uncountably competent and powerful girls (Lucy wouldn’t have it any other way). There are direct spoilers for the previous book and nods to other works, but if one didn’t mind spoilers, this could be read as a stand alone. The many plot threads are wrapped up neatly by the end, and readers will have a reasonable idea of the path ahead.
All three characters named in the introductory paragraph have third person limited viewpoint for some part of the novel – but this didn’t bother me as much as usual. Part of that was the third person instead of first, but I suspect the larger portion was because Medford sensibly managed the switches – not alternating chapters without a plot specific reason, and once all voices were established, not afraid to follow a different character even in the middle of a chapter if that made more sense.
Many content warnings for this book, including spoilers. Adults will want to know this book contains mild romance, including some kissing, hand holding, and cuddles. The romance is never in the foreground, and it’s still readable by kids who will prefer the war scenes and action of assembling the mysterious weapon.
Another major warning is based on the time period. There are deaths including beloved characters (but if you’ve read any of Milford’s other non-Greenglass books, you’ll know she doesn’t avoid killing her darlings when needed), significant injuries, shelling, captures, dangerous naval chases, and other acts of warfare. Beyond those, the text references the War of the Vendee, impressment, and massacres of the French Revolution in significant ways that cannot easily be edited out during read-alouds.
Some other content to be aware of is nationalism, sexism (appropriately called out with the text), swearing, vaguely Christian content, kidnapping, superstitions, murderous threats, references to the Flying Dutchman (although never specifically named as such), dueling, hand-t0-hand combat, traitorous actions, explosions, window breaking, and a surprisingly practical and humane insane asylum.
Although not as diverse as my usual reading, I still would recommend this. There’s something about this sort of deeply interconnected non-sequential fantasy that is just fun.
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