By GAIL CARSON LEVINE
Meryl understood me, although we were as different as could be. She was fair, and I was dark complexioned.
She was small and compact, a concentration of focused energy. I was always tall for my age, and loose-limbed, and my energy was nervous and fluttery. Meryl was brave, and I was afraid of almost everything - from monsters to strangers to spiders.
As a child Meryl loved to act out scenes from Drualt or scenes from a made-up drama in which she saved the kingdom. Our games would begin on the miniature carriage that was our nursery's best feature. I'd sit inside, and Meryl would climb up to the driver's seat. We'd travel to the Eskern Mountains, where ogres and gryphons dwelled, or to the elf queen's castle on the shores of the Haun Ocean, or to the western desert, where the dragons had their lairs, or to Mulee Forest, where spectres abounded.
Illustrator: Mel Grant
Publisher: HarperCollins
Age group: 8-11 yrs
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The Two Princesses of Bamarre: Part 3
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