I Am Morgan le Fay
Author: Nancy Springer
Series: A Tale from Camelot
Publisher: Puffin
How Received: gift
Morgan is a willful, mischievous girl with mismatched eyes of emerald and violet. A girl of magic, whose childhood ends when King Uther Pendragon murders her father and steals away her mother. Then Pendragon dies and, in a warring country with no one to claim the throne, there are many who want Morgan dead. But Morgan has power, and magic. She is able to change the course of history, to become other, to determine her own fate-and, thus the fate of Britain. She will become Morgan le Fay.
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I've been on a huge Arthurian legend kick lately; I've been reading young adult novels, adult novels, collections of short stories, classic literature - anything I can get my hands on that involves Arthurian legend. Hell, I'm even working my way through a book that uses historical evidence to prove that Arthur himself was a real person. (Arthur's Britain by Leslie Alcock, if you're interested.)
That being said, I liked this interpretation of Morgana's character. (Yes, yes, I know her name is Morgan, and in a lot of the tales she's Morgan, but I prefer Morgana so much more. Sounds a bit more mystical, don't ya think?) She became the strong sorceress that she's supposed to be, with a strong spirit and fingers dipped in evil, but she's still likeable.
[SPOILER ALERT] I won't lie; her childish streak got a bit annoying at times, especially given her situation. You spend three years with fairy-folk and you haven't learned a thing? But the epilogue does clarify that, though she senses her fate, she does give Arthur a fair chance at earning her loyalty - all she wanted was to be treated as an equal, and since he could not do that, she could not accept him as king. [END SPOILER ALERT]
I like the way Morgause was presented, and I'm curious as to what would have happened had Springer written another novel involving her. Given the string fate has wrapped around her and Arthur, her family, and her own seemingly placid personality (though there's strength under there), it would be interesting to see into her mind a bit.
Final Comments: It's an interesting take on Morgana; if you want to start taking a peek into various bits of Arthurian literature, I'd take a look at this. Fans of BBC's MERLIN might want to pick it up as well - though that Morgana has a different backstory, I can see this one fitting her quite well!
Cover Comments: Ick ew no. There's too much muddle of colors. I did a cover redesign for this (and I Am Mordred) over at the WORD for Teens Tumblr using the characters' from BBC's Merlin, if you're interested.
Have you read this or any of Springer's other books? Have any YA recommendations of Arthurian literature for me?