Black Unicorn

Nobody knew where it had come from, or what it wanted. Not even Jaive, the sorceress, could fathom the mystery of the fabled beast. But Tanaquil, Jaive’s completely unmagical daughter, understood it at once. She knew why the unicorn was there: It had come for her. It needed her. Tanaquil was amazed because she was the girl with no talent for magic. She could only fiddle with broken bits of machinery and make them work again. What could she do for a unicorn? Grades 7-12, Tanaquil may be the daughter of a sorceress, but she can't do any magic--or so she thinks--and she finds life in her mother's castle very dull and lonely. Her one skill, that of mending things, leads her to piece together a pile of old bones found in the desert and unknowingly bring back to life a black unicorn that needs Tanaquil to help it return to its own, more perfect world. In the process of doing this, Tanaquil finds a sister, and discovers what her own powers really are. The plot of The Black Unicorn is in no way as simple as this description. It is complex and twisting, and while readers may not be sure where they're going, they'll never be bored. Lee's lush and highly visual style and her down-to-earth sense of humor are a constant entertainment. Her imagination is boundless, whether in recreating the life of desert nomads or describing a castle full of magical devices all gone slightly awry. The static cover illustration, with rearing unicorn and silver-gowned heroine, does not begin to convey the special flavor of this stylish, humorous fantasy. --Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library (School and Library Journal)