Alphabet of Dreams

September 18, 2006
The accent in Simhan's sinuous, supple voice is difficult to place. Burnished with the dulcet tones of the Queen's English, Simhan also bears a faint trace of foreignness, of mysterious otherness. Her clipped, elegant reading of Fletcher's fantasy tale set in ancient Persia is enhanced by this undertone of other climes. A pair of siblings, royal by birth but impoverished, discover they have the gift of reading the dreams of others, and seek to return to their rightful place with this gift's help. Simhan's performance is invested with careful diction and an occasional touch of theatrical emoting. She does a solid job of keeping this lengthy audiobook flowing, thanks to a colorful palette of voices, inflections and meaningful pauses. While there are moments that drag, Simhan keeps them to a minimum. She gets into the spirit of this Arabian Nights
-esque fantasy with aplomb. Ages 12-up.

November 1, 2006
Gr 7 Up-Mitra and her younger brother, Babak, are refugees in ancient Persia, living in a labyrinth of caves, scraping by with the food they can steal in the nearby marketplace. Disguised as a boy for safety and mobility, Mitra dreams of returning to her former life of opulence before her fathers plot against a despotic king scattered the family. When it is discovered that Babak possesses the ability of prophetic dreaming, he comes to the attention of a local magus, Melchior, who takes the children under his protection as he travels westward, following signs in the stars. Joined by two more scholars, each with his own gifts, the caravan continues on a harrowing journey that leads them into the Roman territories, and eventually to the tiny village of Bethlehem. While the focus is always on Mitra, readers experience a growing awareness of who these three wise men actually are and what portentous events Babak is dreaming for them. Fletcher explains in detailed authors notes her long-standing fascination with the story of the Magi and provides insight into the research process. A fine weaver of historical fiction, she creates a fully realized world for her characters and builds a plot full of suspense and anguish. Mitra and Babaks plight is that of any children caught between warring factions. Their journey is one of seeking a place of safety to call home, and, for Mitra, it is a coming-of-age quest that leaves her changed forever."Connie C. Rockman, Stratford Library Association, CT"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2006
In a richly imagined novel, Fletcher dovetails her own characters and plot with an utterly familiar New Testament story. Mitra comes from Persian royalty, but most of her family is dead. Now disguised as a boy, she steals food and shelters in burial caves with her younger brother, Babak. Political enemies of their father pursue them, as does the magus Melchior, who has heard of Babak's gift for dreaming others' dreams. The complications facing a pubescent girl living as a boy and the rhythms of desert life form one intriguing dimension to the novel; another is the journey set in motion when Babak dreams of a portentous star, and the siblings follow Melchior and his two magi companions as they seek the king it represents. Teens will recognize their own longings in proud, headstrong, and passionate Mitra; steer slightly older readers to Anne Provost's " In the Shadow of the Ark "(2004), another novel about a resilient young woman swept along by biblical events.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

October 30, 2006
This richly imagined novel invents a backstory for the famous Nativity tale of the three wise men—Melchior, Balthazaar and Gaspar—who follow a star in search of the prophesied king. Fletcher (Shadow Spinner
) centers the story on Mitra, a Persian teenager, and her young brother, the fragile, kindhearted Babak. The pair was forced to flee after their father's unsuccessful coup attempt against the reigning monarch, Phraates. Mitra successfully disguises herself as a boy and a beggar—until Babak unwittingly reveals his ability to foretell the future through his dreams. His prophetic visions attract unwanted attention, most perilously from Melchior, an out-of-favor Magus who kidnaps the boy so Babak can dream exclusively for him, despite obvious risks to the boy's health. (He grows weaker with every dream.) There's a bit too much going on—two romances for Mitra, multiple escapes and recaptures, squabbling Magi—and the pace occasionally advances as languidly as a camel journey from Persia to Bethlehem. But Mitra is feisty and honorable, and Fletcher, with lush and often poetic language, somehow ties her many strands together, drawing a subtle parallel between the humble circumstances of the unnamed baby's birth and the empathetic suffering of Babak, a prince in exile. Ages 12-up.