The Freemason's Daughter

by Shelley Sackier

Overview

Saying good-bye to Scotland is the hardest thing that Jenna MacDuff has had to do—until she met Lord Pembroke. Jenna’s small clan has risked their lives traveling the countryside as masons, secretly drumming up support and arms at every stop for the exiled King James Stuart so that he may retake the British throne. But their next job brings them into enemy territory: England.

Jenna’s father repeatedly warns her to trust no one, but when the Duke of Keswick hires the clan to build a garrison on his estate, it seems she cannot hide her capable mind from the duke’s inquisitive son, Lord Alex Pembroke—nor mask her growing attraction to him.

But there’s a covert plan behind the building of the garrison—a secret that cannot be revealed. Will Jenna hide her family’s mutinous plot and assist her clan’s cause, or protect the life of the young noble she’s falling for?

In Shelley Sackier’s lush, vivid historical debut, someone will pay a deadly price no matter what Jenna chooses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062453440
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Shelley Sackier is the author of The Antidote, The Freemason's Daughter, and Dear Opl. She blogs at www.shelleysackier.com about food, family, and the folly that is life while living atop a mountain in the Blue Ridge. She also gives school presentations to illuminate the merits of embracing failure (just like NASA) and to further her campaign to erect monuments to all librarians.

Editorial Reviews

An intriguing exploration of the intersection of politics, religion, and customs of the period—historical fiction at its best.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Teens looking for a solid historical romance will not be disappointed in The Freemason’s Daughter... This well-written debut will be enjoyed by readers of  Renee Ahdieh’s Rose and the Dagger series.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Fans of Scottish history and subterfuge will be intrigued.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

Fans of Scottish history and subterfuge will be intrigued.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Teens looking for a solid historical romance will not be disappointed in The Freemason’s Daughter... This well-written debut will be enjoyed by readers of  Renee Ahdieh’s Rose and the Dagger series.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Fans of Scottish history and subterfuge will be intrigued.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

03/01/2017
Gr 7 Up—Jenna MacDuff is the only child of the Scottish leader of a group of Freemasons who must flee Scotland for England to hide their support of the exiled King James Stuart. Ironically, Jenna and her makeshift family of Freemasons are hired by the Duke of Keswick to build a garrison to protect his household from themselves and other Jacobites. In addition to building the garrison, the Freemasons have covert plans to use it to their advantage. Jenna has doubts about her family's strategy, especially in light of the feelings she has for the duke's son, Lord Pembroke, and the danger to herself and her family. Though readers are told that the heroine is in danger, they likely won't feel it until the very abrupt end. They will, however, tire of the constant reminder of how unusual it is for a girl, especially one of Jenna's station, to be educated. Though the protagonist is empowered, the character development is heavy-handed. An educated, spunky, yet poor heroine; a brooding, aristocratic hero; and an intriguing and suspenseful setting should make this a worthy romance, but the slow pacing of the beginning and the rapid conclusion leave readers with a very mixed bag. Although the characters are appealing and well drawn, this doesn't redeem the work. VERDICT A romance with great potential that is hurt by a sluggish start and a quick end. A strictly additional purchase.—Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2017-02-04
It's 1714 Great Britain, and a rebellion is brewing.James Stuart lives in exile, and George of the German House of Hannover is about to ascend the throne. Jenna's family, Scottish stonemasons, are Jacobites secretly working to return James to the throne in accordance with the divine right of kings. Alex, Lord Pembroke, has a duty to support George I's government as inheritor of his father's seat in the House of Lords. His father, the Duke of Keswick, has hired the masons to build a garrison to imprison and execute Jacobites—but Jenna's family has other plans for the structure: to aid the rebellion. Jenna and Alex inevitably meet and fall in love, but if Alex discovers Jenna's secret, her life, and those of her family, will be forfeit. Third-person narration alternates between Jenna and Alex, but it's Jenna's freethinking that will pull readers in. Her most prized possession is a copy of Newton's Principia; she's been taught to speak the King's English rather than with the broad Scottish accent of her family; and she has the freedom to choose her life's path during a time when women had very few choices. The cast, unsurprisingly, is an all-white one. An intriguing exploration of the intersection of politics, religion, and customs of the period—historical fiction at its best. (Historical fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews