Goldeline

August 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Goldeline has lived a harsh life and is haunted by visions of her past. Her mother was burned at the stake for being a witch by the evil Preacher, and her fellow townspeople think that she must be a witch as well. Life in the Hinterlands is tough. Forced to live on the run from the Preacher, she spends her days colluding with a group of bandits attempting to steal from innocent passersby. While doing her "damsel in distress" act with the thieves, she encounters a young boy named Tommy who has lived a similar life-on the run, fending for himself. When she attempts to help Tommy, she unwittingly grabs the unwanted and dangerous attention of the Preacher. Goldeline and Tommy must work together to elude capture or face certain death. The only place to escape to is the dark, mysterious woods where magical creatures, undiscovered terrors, and her own potential magical powers await. Cajoleas crafts a story that echoes many elements of today's world while still being fully entrenched in the fantastical. Goldeline is a determined young girl who knows what she wants but is sometimes unsure of how to achieve it (a relatable feeling for many young readers). While the story suffers from pacing issues in the beginning, those who stick with it will be rewarded by a complex yet approachable mythology featuring a strong female protagonist. VERDICT A solid purchase for most collections, particularly where middle grade fantasy is in demand.-Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
A Bible-loving, magic-using orphan and her reluctant companion plunge into the deep dark woods in this Southern fantasy. After the zealous Preacher burned her mother for witchcraft, 11-year-old, white-haired, golden-eyed, white Goldeline fled Templeton to live with substitute father-figure Gruff and his bandits in the forest. When Goldeline's impulsive rescue of 10-year-old, redheaded, white orphan Tommy destroys the camp, the two youngsters traverse the dangerous woods in search of the much-mythologized rogues' refuge of Moon Haven. With the terrifying (yet underdeveloped) Preacher and his mob of Townies in pursuit, Goldeline rewrites her own story, going from apprentice bandit and Ghost Girl to inappropriate angel to budding witch. The duo's encounters and escapes from wicked people--whose villainy is crudely symbolized by their deformities--echo traditional fairy tales but have an unexpected Christian twist; Goldeline learned magic from her mother but also treasures the (good) Book. Debut author Cajoleas unspools the simple but suspenseful story with a distinctive Southern cadence and rich scenic descriptions but a peculiar absence of characters of color, and geographic and historical vagueness place this tale in the realm of fabulism and big-fish stories. A folksy fairy tale bridging The Robber Bridegroom and Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Fantasy. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 16, 2017
In Cajoleas’s intriguing and eerie children’s book debut, a white-haired, golden-eyed girl sets off on a quest through an enchanted deep woods. Ever since the death of her magic-wielding mother at the hands of the cruel Preacher, 11-year-old Goldeline has been cared for by a bandit named Gruff and his band of men, and she participates in their highway robberies. Goldeline rescues 10-year-old Tommy after the men rob his carriage, hiding him and pretending to be an angel (albeit a cantankerous one). Following a violent skirmish with the Preacher’s men, Goldeline and Tommy wind up on their own in the woods, where they encounter a variety of threatening characters. As Goldeline struggles with what she remembers of her past and uncovers her own magical abilities, she narrates in a rough-and-tumble voice that reflects her hard-edged upbringing (one hillside abode they flee to in desperation is “like a happy home gone wrong, like what me and Momma had but twisted and sunk with grime”). A suspenseful tale of self-discovery. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media.

Starred review from August 1, 2017
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Sightings of the Ghost Girl of the Woods are met with terror, as misfortune swiftly falls on those who glimpse the slight, white-haired girl. For her part, Goldeline quite enjoys her dreadful reputation, though it's Gruff and his bandits that travelers should fear, not the pale 11-year-old who works for them. Gruff became a surrogate father to Goldy after her mother was burned for witchcraft a few years earlier, and the woods have been her home ever since. But her life is upended again when she helps a boy, Tommy, escape Gruff's men only for him to be intercepted by the person she fears most in the worldthe evil preacher who killed her mother. Forging a path of destruction, the manic preacher hunts Goldy and Tommy with the single-minded purpose of cleansing them of witchcraft's evil until an inevitable confrontation brings all to a head. First-time novelist Cajoleas writes with the ease of a seasoned author, conjuring an atmospheric setting that hums with menace and a compelling, unpolished protagonist. He explores the ambiguous nature of good and evil through the preacher's misguided religious fervor and the love Goldeline receives from bad people, a witch and a bandit. Goldeline's heart-pounding race through the woods reveals a complex, magical world that will give readers much to contemplate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
Since the Preacher burned her mother as a witch, Goldeline has been living with minor thugs in the forest, helping to rob travelers. Cajoleas doesn't mince words when depicting the Preacher's cruelty and violence (his crusade also includes homophobia), and the graphic descriptions match the dark tone of Goldeline's narration. With her blend of self-sufficiency and vulnerability, Goldeline is a sympathetic protagonist, and the vivid setting makes for compelling reading.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2018
Since the Preacher burned her mother as a witch, Goldeline--named after her pale eyes and hair--has been living in the forest, helping Gruff and his band of minor thugs rob travelers and thereby taking revenge in a small way on the townspeople who abandoned her mother to the Preacher's vicious crusade. Not long after she secretly saves Tommy, a victim of one of the robberies, the Preacher finds the band's hideout and slaughters most of its members. When the Preacher tracks Goldeline and Tommy down at the home of a gay couple who took them in (the Preacher's crusade also includes homophobia), Goldeline finally confronts him, overcoming a spell set by her mother long ago and thus finally remembering the Preacher's connection to her family and discovering how to defeat him. Cajoleas doesn't mince words when it comes to depicting the Preacher's cruelty and violence, and the graphic descriptions match the dark and vaguely Southern gothic tone of Goldeline's narration ("It's the kind of cut that throbs in your sleepthat splits open all the time and spills blood all over the place just when you think you finally got it healed. That's what I know about losing a momma"). Goldeline, with her blend of self-sufficiency and vulnerability, is a sympathetic protagonist, and the book's vivid setting makes for compelling reading. sarah rettger

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)