The Silver Bowl

Title: The Silver Bowl

Author: Diane Stanley

Publisher: Harper (2011)

Genre(s): Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy

Length: 307 pages

Synopsis:  Molly's mother went mad and her father's a drunkard.  She's not even a little surprised when, at seven years old, her father decides to ship her off to the king's castle to work as a scullery maid.  What does surprise her are the visions that occasionally possess her, shocking visions of death and destruction that always come true.  Before her arrival at the castle, there was no way for Molly to know when the visions would strike, but when she's promoted to silver-polisher, she discovers that simply polishing a particular silver bowl brings them on.  These aren't any ordinary visions though.  They all pertain to the royal family, and none of them are good.

My Rating: 3 Stars

My Opinion: 

This is a well constructed little story.  It's got all the elements it should: rather appealing characters, logical character development, a decent plot.  And yet, unlike Molly's silver, it just doesn't shine.  The setting is a bit odd: fictional kingdoms with fictional geography (not to mention magic), and yet there are still somehow mentions of ancient Greece, Rome, and Persia.  It doesn't feel as fully imagined as it might, especially given that the underlying structure is sound.  Though there's nothing really wrong with this book, I don't see it shooting to the top of anyone's favorite book lists or the bestsellers' list either.