(Image credit: www.powells.com)Napoli, Donna Jo. Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007.
When the daughter of a king is captured and enslaved, she learns that silence can be a powerful weapon.
Melkorka, daughter of one of the ancient kings of Eire land, is giddy with excitement as she sweeps through Dublin in celebration of her fifteenth birthday. At the height of her merriment, an ax sweeps through the air and a sudden scream pierces the street. Unbenownst to Melkorka that random act of aggression will split her world apart forever.
It is a time of battles and grudges and this recent act of brutality will not go unpunished. As her father plans his revenge on the vikings who have left her brother mutilated and writhing in pain, she is forced to flee with her sister Brigid. They are to follow the coastal path that will lead them to the ringfort where they will be taken in.
Disaster strikes and they are thrown onto a slave ship heading north. Stubbornness, bitter cold, and Melkorka's silence combine to create a facade that she hopes will keep her captors apprehensive so they will keep their distance. As her exterior turns to ice, inside she finds her old prejudices and beliefs melting away.
Will Melkorka's vow of silence be enough to keep them alive until they are close enough to shore to escape? What has happened to her family in Downpatrick? Read this coming-of-age tale to find out if freedom can be won with a will and a Hush.
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