"No one else can see the evil fairies that rouse Tanya from her sleep, torturing her at the slightest mention of their existence, but they are as real to the 13-year-old as anything she's ever known. She cannot rid herself of them, nor can she ignore them. But it is her insistence on responding to them that has her banished to her grandmother's secluded countryside manor.
There is much to explore and even more to fear in the woods surrounding the estate. But, the forest isn't the only source of dark secrets, and Tanya soon finds herself entangled in a mystery that could trap her in the fairy realm forever."
The book[]
Michelle Harrison's "The 13 Treasures" is an Waterstone's Children's Book Prize-winning novel, and for good reason too. This book, though intended for children, is hardly kept under those boundaries at all. This is rather an encyclopedia of the Fae and a book, that will capture your heart and keep its hold forever.
It is suitable for any age, young or old. It should be made a classic, as it guides the readers through the cobblestone streets of Tickey End, the dangerous paths of Hangman's Woods, and the secrets passages of Elvesden Manor, marking a memory that mind will always yearn to return to.
The story[]
Thirteen-year-old Tanya is an exception in humanity. She has the Second Sight. Bearers of the second sight can see fairies, but the problem was, the fairies would not leave her alone. These were not faries like the colourful ones children saw on televsion, no, these were dark, malevolent creatures who had a mind for revenge and punishment. No one would believe her, and as time passed, grown-ups amusement at her imaginative stories began to turn to concern.
She had a diary in which she would recount all her troubles with fairies in hopes that someone would find it someday and receive guidance from it. Unfortunately, the fairies discovered it, and punished her for putting up their secrets for all to see.
Eventually her mother finds her in her bedroom where the fairies have trashed everything, and decides she has had the last straw. The next day, Tanya is sent to live with her grandmother in the old Elvesden Manor on the outer edges of Hangman's Woods.
Here she discovers numerous things with help of her friends Fabian and Red, starting with the secret of the 13 Treasures and the mystery of why she has been gifted with the Sight.
Conclusion[]
Harrison's vivid imagination and ability to to truly capture the reader in the pages of her books shone through in The 13 Treasures. The saying, "Do not judge a book by it's cover" is proven here (as the reader may be drawn by the book's cover) when the story is ten times more beautiful and intriguing than the cover itself, and is something that even adults may want as a "bedtime story".
It leaves the mind racing, and you may just find yourself wondering how to answer the question the cover asks you, "Do you believe in fairies?".
