The Godmother's Apprentice (The Godmother series Book 2)

“Dear Rosie,Being an apprentice fairy godmother is complicated. Not only do I have to go out and find good deeds to do, but for a sidekick I have that hit man that Felicity changed into a toad. I wanted to take the cat but she seems to have had a big funeral to attend. Felicity isn’t around much. She keeps disappearing through a door in the guestroom that opens on the side of a hill. The swimming pool is weird too, and I could have sworn I saw someone dancing on the bottom. I am enjoying riding the flying horse and helping a boy who plays squeezebox and talks to swans though, so things are--you should pardon the expression--looking up.”Sno Quantrill’s trip to Ireland is not just any summer vacation. It’s the adventure of a lifetime. “SIMPLY ENCHANTING.” Publisher’s Weekly“CLEAR AND ENTERTAINING. . . LOTS OF FUN.” Locus“CHARMING. . .Scarborough mixes folklore, adventure, atmosphere, psychology, and whimsy into a thoroughly absorbing plot.” Booklist“AN ENCHANTING BOOK.” Affaire de Coeur

From Publishers Weekly

In The Godmother (1994), Snow White, aka Snohomish "Sno" Quantrill, was one of several unfortunates aided by fairy godmother Felicity Fortune. This delightful sequel puts Sno's further adventures on center stage as, no longer threatened by her evil stepmother, the young woman?with the full approval of her father, the "King of Rock" ('n' Roll)?heads off to Ireland to become an apprentice to Felicity. Ireland is a revelation to this West Coast media child. There, she meets the godmothers' governing council, including the oldest sprite of them of all, Queen Tatiana, and is given three wishes to use as needed. Soon Sno begins encountering denizens from ancient tales: Puss in Boots, who follows the funeral procession of the King of Cats around Ireland; a Gypsy boy who, searching for his frail and disoriented old mother, falls in with pure evil in the form of a mercenary seeking to foment further discord in Ireland; a flying horse and talking swans, who come to the aid of Sno and her friends. Through third-person narrative and Sno's first-person journal entries, Scarborough offers another tale of modern-day magic and its mythic wellsprings without making it appear ridiculous or sinister?but simply enchanting. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After being rescued from her murderous stepmother, teenager Sno Quantrill shows her appreciation to the silver-haired woman who saved her by joining the ranks of fairy godmothers. Scarborough's light-hearted sequel to The Godmother (Ace, 1994) features a talking cat, a needy tinker named Jack, and an immortal assassin from Ireland's ancient past. The author of The Healer's War (Bantam, 1989) demonstrates her versatility in a tongue-in-cheek fantasy that belongs in most libraries.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The sequel to The Godmother (1994) takes Snohomish Quantrill, heroine of that tale's "Snow White" plot and now in training to be a godmother, to Ireland. Beginning her training, she is promptly plunged into Ireland's troubles, which here involve both human and nonhuman forces. Quite as charming as its predecessor, the sequel is in many other respects superior. Snohomish's further development makes her a more interesting protagonist, and Scarborough mixes folklore, adventure, atmosphere, psychology, and whimsy into a thoroughly absorbing plot. The romance will not only win readers on its own, but also send them back to The Godmother if they have not already read it. Roland Green

From Kirkus Reviews

Rose Samson is a Seattle social worker struggling with an increased caseload, vanishing resources, and the despair that accompanies daily contact with murder, child molestation, drug traffic, homelessness, and an unrelenting bureaucracy. Into her life, and into the lives of her clients, drops one Felicity Fortune, who claims to be a modern incarnation of the Fairy Godmother. Although constrained by limited resources herself (her use of magic has been severely curtailed by Godmothers' Sorority), Felicity's involvement in Rose's career soon turns the social worker's skepticism to grudging belief. Meantime, Rose's clients begin to bear striking resemblances to characters detailed by the brothers Grimm. Cindy Ellis is plagued by her stepmother and two obnoxious stepsisters. Snohomish Quantrill, young daughter of a rock star, manages to elude her stepmother's hit man, and takes refuge with seven Vietnam vets who are getting in touch with their masculinity (sweat lodges, drums, rap sessions) in a cabin in the woods. Little Hank and Gigi are abandoned by their mother at a mall, and are ``rescued'' by the man who made the mall's gingerbread house display. Only when he takes them home do they begin to suspect that his interest in little children has a sinister side. Felicity's limited powers provide no assurance of a happily-ever-after here. Scarborough (Last Refuge, 1992, etc.) attempts charm in this slight story, but alas, what comes out instead is saccharine and hokey. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947, and lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Elizabeth won a Nebula Award for her novel The Healer’s War, and has written more than a dozen other novels. She has collaborated with Anne McCaffrey, best known for creating the Dragonriders of Pern, to produce the Petaybee Series and the Acorna Series. Others of Scarborough’s titles are available electronically via Gypsy Shadow Publishing: www.gypsyshadow.com/ElizabethScarborough.html#top

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