Girls Can't Be Knights

by Lee French Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki

Overview

Even the Spirit Knights could not see this coming ...

Sixteen-year-old Claire wants her father back. His death left her only memories and an empty locket. After six difficult years in foster care, her vocabulary no longer includes “hope” and “trust.” But everything changes dramatically when she encounters Justin, a Spirit Knight restlessly hunting dangerous ghosts that devour the living, who rides into her path on his magical horse and takes her under his wing. When an evil spirit threatens Claire's life, she'll need Justin's help to survive.

A fun and absorbing adventure tale full of humor and magic!

No one, including Claire, believes she can be a Spirit Knight, even when all signs show she is ready to become one. This is because the Spirit Knights have been a boys' club for over a thousand years. Worse yet, Claire will have to dive into the hair-raising ghost-hunting job before she gets full access to the Knights' order. Fortunately for her, she has Justin as her private tutor. With the help of his sarcastic horse and saintly wife, he'll teach her the finer points of the job. Add in a little luck, and they both might survive long enough for her to learn it all.

Girls Can't Be Knights is a magical and unique adventure story that will touch your soul and raise your spirits.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Review

July 27, 2016
The start of a new YA series features a teen orphan and a protective brotherhood of Spirit Knights. Fifteen-year-old Claire Terdan lives in a group foster home in Portland, Oregon. Six years ago, her family died in a house fire, and her only dependable friend since has been a boy her age named Drew. One day in school, after she punches a bully who mocks her, the principal suspends her for a day. She sneaks out of school and into town only to be accosted by several cats and dogs. Meanwhile, at the nearby Oregon Historical Society, a man named Justin arrives on his white horse, Tariel. He’s there, dressed in his green Spirit Knight armor, to borrow (some might say steal) an antique hat that has sentimental meaning to his mentor, Kurt. When he meets Claire, he offers her a ride home. Telling Justin she doesn’t have one, Claire ends up with him in Vancouver, Washington, at his family’s farm. There she meets his wife and two young daughters and eventually learns about the Palace, a magical, dormitory-style structure where Spirit Knights—a brotherhood that protects the world from ghostly, vengeful Phasms—dwell. Justin isn’t sure why Claire seems familiar until he learns that she’s the daughter of a dead Knight named Mark. French (Superheroes in Denim, 2016, etc.) establishes a crafty new fantasy series with a light smattering of genre fixtures, including talking animals, an enchanted pendant, and the firmly held belief that “Girls can’t be Knights.” Most of the narrative drama comes from grounded conflicts that teens should relate to, like Claire’s attraction to the older Justin and the lousy conditions of the “sanitized prison” that is her group home. Later scenes in which a detective named Avery physically assaults Claire are not for the faint-hearted. The upside for the tale’s heroine is that Justin and his family turn out to be perfect for her; despite early misgivings about them, she decides to “admire the example they set and be grateful for it.” The story should provide a heartwarming boost to anyone in a tough situation. A clever, feel-good opening to a fantasy series with a tenacious heroine.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169693362
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Series:	Spirit Knights , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

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