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The Forbidden Orchid
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  • Published: 8 March 2016
  • ISBN: 9780698187979
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Childrens
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416

The Forbidden Orchid

  • Sharon Biggs Waller
Formats & editions
EBook
8 Mar 2016
Audiobook
8 Mar 2016
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The adventures of a British girl in China, hunting for the orchid that will save her family.

Staid, responsible Elodie Buchanan is the eldest of ten sisters growing up in a small English market town in 1861. The girls barely know their father, a plant hunter usually off adventuring through China, more myth than man. Then disaster strikes: Mr. Buchanan reneges on his contract to collect an extremely rare and valuable orchid. He will be thrown into debtors’ prison while his daughters are sent to the orphanage and the workhouse.

Elodie can’t stand by and see her family destroyed, so she persuades her father to return to China once more to try to hunt down the flower—only this time, despite everything she knows about her place in society, Elodie goes with him. She has never before left her village, but what starts as fear turns to wonder as she adapts to seafaring life aboard the tea clipper The Osprey, and later to the new sights, dangers, and romance of China. She comes to find that both the world and her place in it are so much bigger than she’d ever dreamed. But now, even if she can find the orchid, how can she ever go back to being the staid, responsible Elodie that everybody needs?
  • Published: 8 March 2016
  • ISBN: 9780698187979
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Childrens
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416
Categories:

Praise for The Forbidden Orchid

Praise for A Mad, Wicked Folly:

* "At equal turns humorous and heartbreaking. . . . A must-have first purchase."--School Library Journal, starred review

* "Waller's intriguingly sympathetic characters, effortless and effective blend of history and romance, passion for her subject, and swift-paced plot make her a new YA voice to watch."--Booklist, starred review

"[A] compelling coming-of-age tale that's as good as any British period drama. . . . The Edwardian world here is so immersive and Vicky so likable that readers will want to put on the kettle on and settle in for a lovely read."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"An enjoyable historical romp."--Kirkus Reviews

Nominated for the American Library Association's 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project List

Nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association's 2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults List

Selected for Booklist's Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth

Selected for Booklist's Top Ten Romance Fiction for Youth. "This historical romance, set in 1909 London, has all the elements dear to readers of the genre, especially forbidden love, but the feminist tone and art-history focus add an edge."

Selected for Booklist's Top Ten First Novels for Youth. "Waller's intriguing characters and effortless blend of history and romance make her a new YA voice to watch."

* "This book is outstanding historical fiction. Readers will become immersed in the story and admire Vicky's commitment and risk-taking."--Library Media Connections, starred review