Clementine

Star Maker #3

by Sophie Masson

Aurora is the daughter of a lord, and Clementine of a servant, but both children are blessed by the fairy Woodland Ladies at their joint christening. Then the vicious oldest Lady, Tarabosse, prophesies that, at sixteen, Clementine will betray Aurora to death. The curse is lessened to a hundred years' sleep, but the girls are sent deep into the woods to try and evade it. Educated in the old magic and protected by the Ladies, they grow up as sisters, but must finally return to the castle. Disaster cannot be averted, and the castle falls into a deep slumber. A century later, a young amateur scientist, Lord Arthur, and his friend, Raphael, are entranced by legends of the enchanted wood. They search for it. And they find love, but also that the science, technology and political progress of the new age are no match for magic untouched for over a hundred years ...

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Audiobook

181 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 2001

About the author

Born in Indonesia of French parents, Sophie Masson was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in Toulouse, France, when she was just a baby and lived there till she was nearly five, when her parents came back from Indonesia and took her to Australia. All the rest of her childhood, the family stayed in Australia, with frequent trips back to France, and this dual heritage underpins a good deal of Sophie's work.
Sophie's first book appeared in 1990 and since then she has published more than seventy books, for children, young adults and adults. Her books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. She has also had many short stories and articles published in newspapers, magazines, and online journals.
Sophie holds a BA and M.Litt in French and English literature, and a PhD in Creative Practice. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, she is the current Chair (2021) of the New England Writers' Centre and of the Small Press Network. She is also the President committee of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.
Sophie has received several awards for her creative work, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the YA category of the Aurealis Awards. In 2019 she received an AM in the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature as an author, a publisher, and through service to literary organisations.
Sophie's website is at www.sophiemassonauthor.com
She has a writing blog at www.firebirdfeathers.com
Her You Tube channel, with trailers to many of her books, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLa...
She is also a regular contributor to the popular authorship blog Writer Unboxed, www.writerunboxed.com

Reviews

[Muphyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty, set in 18th century France. But what's with the Australian king/knight whatever he was?! huh, that so didn't fit. And some dialogues seemed out of place, too modern given the general tone of the book.

The narrator clearly knew French so it really irritated me that she Anglised some names but not others.

The afterword by the author almost wrecks it all. Don't read it unless you want a lecture on why we should believe in fairies...

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. I felt like I was reading half a story. There were missing bits and unnecessary bits, things that were skimmed over and others dragged out. It had potential to be great, because the language is beautiful and the premise a good one for a Sleeping Beauty re-telling. It just never quite fleshed itself out enough.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts I enjoyed … others I did not … 2.5

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good retelling of an old fairytale but didn't bring much new to the genre.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting re-telling of the classic fairytale, with a bit of a twist included.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first half of the book whilst not enthralling had a decent hook and natural whimsical tone. I liked some of the concepts the author introduced and attempted to weave through the fairy tale (Love, fate, social constructs human nature, nature ect) however the second half of the book almost completely lost me. All male characters were discarded and replaced with three I could not connect with and the way they told their stories through letters was jarring. The female characters came to all these realisations that I could not connect with. I really wanted to like this story but it was a little disjointed.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not familiar with the other books in the series so perhaps the ending would have been better explained if I had read the first two. But I honestly was lost for the latter half of the book. Things happened quickly and with Alice's intervention which could have come anytime within the hundred years as far as I can tell. I did like how she used the backdrop of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution to motivate the dads. The history was woven flawlessly into the story.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Unfortunately I found it tedious! I couldn't wait for it to be over.

[Bron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short version of the Sleeping Beauty story, there is nothing that makes this story unique.

[Aphie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think if I'd found Masson as a teen I'd be enamoured of her. But as an adult, I find myself enjoying her work, but wanting MORE. More meat, and juice, and adult complications.

[Janelle]

Unfinished. I found it rather slow and boring.