An Exchange of Gifts - Hardcover

Anne McCaffrey is the author of Freedom's Landing, Freedom's Choice, and Freedom's Challenge. In 1999 she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, given by the American Library Association, for lifetime achievement. One of science fiction's most beloved writers, Anne lives in Ireland.

McCaffrey's latest is a sweet, romantic fantasy set in a realm where each person is born with a gift that determines their future. Meanne, who is not allowed to practice her gift of making plants grow and thrive--because it is so "unsuitable for a princess of the Blood Royal to insert her royal hands in common dirt" --runs away to a deserted, run-down forest hunting lodge. Unschooled in many of the practicalities of setting the hut to rights, she is delighted when a boy named Wisp shows up and joins forces with her. Readers may suspect it before Meanne does, but Wisp has a frightening gift that works a great change for Meanne yet bodes well for their future together. This is an enticing little book, made more so by Pat Morrissey's delicate line drawing that frames each two-page spread of text, and McCaffrey fans of all ages will adore it. Sally Estes