The Islands of Chaldea

Diana Wynne Jones's The Islands of Chaldea is a funny, twisty fantasy quest for 11 year olds about a girl who's sure her magic is never going to turn up.

What happens

Aileen comes from a family of Wise Women on the island of Skarr. Every girl in the family spends a night shut in a stone trench called the Place when she's twelve, and comes out with a vision. Aileen comes out with nothing (or rather, she panics, spoils it and doesn't dare tell anyone).

Her Aunt Beck is the best Wise Woman on Skarr, and very brisk with it. Her answer to every crisis is porridge.

Then the High King turns up with a secret job. For ten years a spell has walled off Logra, and his son Prince Alasdair is a prisoner there. Word has come that a Wise Woman crossing the islands with a man from each one could find a way through. That means Aunt Beck. And Aileen is going too.

So is her cousin Ivar, who is sick the moment he steps into a boat (and whom Aileen has secretly chosen as her future husband). So is Ogo, the Logran boy left behind as a small child, whom everyone at the castle teases and half suspects of spying.

Aileen tells the story herself and she's great company. She's honest, a bit hard on herself and very funny about the grown-ups. Aunt Beck notices the things everyone else misses, like a prince wearing far too many bracelets, and Aileen gets to watch her work it out.

The trial where Prince Donal is accused of burning down the priest's house is very silly and very sharp. Who else answers a charge of arson by asking who died?

This one sits right at the top of the shelf. Aileen's mother died having a baby, which she mentions early on, and there's talk of raids and of the prince being shot in the leg and carried off years ago. The sentences are rich and there are lots of names to keep straight. A reader who's comfortable with longer fantasy will love that. A less confident one might find the first chapters slow.

If your reader likes a heroine who thinks she's the least special person in the room, this is a real treat.

What to read next

For another of Diana Wynne Jones's girls who's sure she's bound to fail and walks into a wizard's castle anyway, try The Land of Ingary Trilogy.