Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear

In the Shadow of the Bear #1

by David Randall

Having unveiled a family secret and discovering the truth behind her special powers, twelve-year-old Clovermead and her father find themselves in the middle of a vicious war between the nuns of Lady Moon and the evil bearpriests of Lord Ursus, causing Clovermead to come to terms with who she is in order to succeed in her very important mission. Reprint.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Magic, Childrens, Shapeshifters, War

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 25, 2004

About the author

the link above has some more information

While still a graduate student, David Randall wrote Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear, a fantasy adventure novel. The story tells of Clovermead Wickward, a twelve-year-old tomboy, as she attempts to assist the innkeeper Waxmelt, a man who has raised her as if she were his own daughter. Clovermead's journey leads her into a battle between good and evil that allows her to see past society's many deceptions and find her own place in the adult world.

Jennifer Mattson, in a review of Clovermead for Booklist, commented on Randall's decision to add a dark side to his young heroine's personality, noting that it "puts an intriguing spin on the otherwise archetypal fantasy plot." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Clovermead "vivacious, loquacious, precocious," and "a delightful heroine," while in School Library Journal, Jane G. Conner deemed the novel "a challenging high fantasy for those who can keep straight many details and forces, and who don't mind a good bit of violence." Dubbing Randall "a writer to watch," a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that Clovermead will attract "fantasy buffs" due to its "fast-paced plotting and the turn of events at the end."

In discussing his novel and its influences, Randall explained: "Clovermead looks with admiration to L.N. Montgomery, Lloyd Alexander, Ursula K. LeGuin, C.S. Lewis, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike my heroine, I am not twelve years old, blonde, or female, but I have been known to fence, and I am told we talk alike."

(an interview with David Randall http://mistysmess.blogspot.com/2010/0...)

Reviews

[Sonja P.]

So, there is no way I can talk about this book unless I enact the spoiler tag, so I'm just hiding the entire thing,because OH MY GOD WHAT DID I JUST READ?

I just picked it up randomly from the library, like you do some days. Let me introduce you to this story Clovermead wants to be an adventurer, and she finds out one day when her father and her have to go on the run, that her father has been lying to her. A lot about her life is a lie, and she doesn't know whether she can trust him anymore. She is running from the bear-priests and from Lord Ursus when she discovers a bear tooth. She can save her father, who has been kidnapped, from the evil people by letting the tooth drink her blood so she can call all the bears to murder people. Also, she can turn into a bear. She becomes more and more bear-like and more bloodthirsty (even cracking someone's neck at one point. GROSSSSSSS). She is like I AM AWESOME AS A BEAR AND THE BEAR IS AWESOME, and then she realizes when she kills a nun how bad it is, so she rips out the tooth with her "bear" hands, (ha ha get it), and she becomes a little girl again. Oh, there's also this whole thing about how her father actually kidnapped her and she's pretty much a princess, but that's not really dealt with very much, and she just goes on loving her Dad la-di-dah like you do. Oh, and in the end she can still turn into a bear and talk to bears when she wants to do so.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I JUST READ. STAY AWAY. STAY FAR AWAY.

[Jaime the Wizzard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out great, with interesting characters and cool names and then it got trippy weird. Something about the bear-god being in the tooth and talking to Clovermead...I'll be honest by the time I finished the book I had no idea what was going on.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clovermead is 12 years old and dreaming of adventure. She can't resist going in to one of the guest's room to try out his sword and is thrilled when he offers to give her sword lessons for payment of his room and her father agrees. Soon, however, she is caught up in the middle of the war between Lady Moon and Lord Ursus and discovering unpleasant truths about her own history. The battle between good and evil takes on a very personal aspect.

[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous heroine is Clovermead - she's quirky, full of life and enjoyable to read about too.

Loved this tale of a little girl growing up, to be someone she's only thought she could.

A really enjoyable tale, well told and full of bears - what more could you want???

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first it was quaint, most enjoyable, but pages and pages of this flowery purpose becomes unbearable after a while. There were a lot of intriguing points and the story seemed interesting, but the author could not quite explain them all fluently or keep their threads in check, meaning it became quite the convoluted mess by the end.

[Caitlyn Horsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was younger. It was one of my favorites for a long time. David Randall does a good job conveying the main characters' emotions and internal conflict between good and evil. However, I wouldn't recommend Clovermead for children or younger teenagers because it does deal with some heavy emotional topics and dark imagery. For those who are comfortable with those themes, this is a good read.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in just under 5 hours (With some rather annoying distractions....so possibly 4* hours?)






**Here There Be Spoilers**
Very nice book, although the moment Waxmelt used the word "gem" I was pretty sure he meant her, but knew for certain once the other half-truths were put into place.

[Mercedes McLean-Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread of a book I picked up when I was younger, I was surprised at how well I liked it on the reread. In many ways it’s a basic lost-Princess-question-adventure story, but it has a unique edge because of the weird bear priest stuff. The main character’s inner struggle as she desires power was interesting to read.

[Maggies Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve years old Clovermead finds the adventures she dreamed of having become brutally real and must stay one step ahead of those who wish her harm.

[LouAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this fantasy adventure! It was a real page turner! The characters had depth and true emotion. The plot was action packed; never dull! The ending gave excellent closure! Bravo!!

[Missy Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun cute book. It was well written with a good story line.

[Rebecca May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book!

To begin with, the writing style is a little odd compared to the style of other authors I've read, very unique. But you quickly become used to it, and the characters consequent slightly strange way of talking, and it becomes the basis for a light feeling, humor, lovable, interesting characters, and a wonderful, relatively quick read.

The main character, Clovermead, certainly has a lot of growing up to do. She seems a very silly chatterbox, but despite that you cannot help but love her. She dreams of adventure almost to the point of idiocy (but stopping short of it) and soon discovers that adventure isn't always what it is made out to be in the glamorous books she reads. I also immediately fell in love with Sorrel, the young man that catches her playing at temple-thief in his room :D. His humor, manners, gentleness and above his joking disposition make for someone who is very much unique, very himself. The light banter between the two of them, contrasted with moments of seriousness and sadness, makes for two wonderful,deep characters, both of which have their own weaknesses and limitations.

That is perhaps what I like most about Randall's writing in this book - he shows us that even the most like-able of people, even hero's and heroines, have inner demons and faults of their own, whether it be silliness, anger, weakness, cowardice. And through Clovermead his writing faultlessly conveys to us how extraordinarily hard it can be to rise above such weaknesses, above the monster that resides within you, and to become someone who may seem weak or ineffectual, but, most importantly, is a good person.

Of course, the other characters that contribute to the story are just as interesting - Lucifer Snuff, the cruel bear priest. Waxmelt Wickward, the loving father that has secrets he cannot bear to tell even his only daughter. Goody Weft, the tough but fair cook of the Ladyrest Inn. And Lord Ursus, the terrible, evil bear Lord with hidden, unexpected vulnerabilities.

So, if you are looking for a relatively fast read that is a little different, with characters that you cannot help but love, then this is the book for you.

[Cayla]

I didn't finish this book, although it wasn't because of any content issues. The first reason was that I had a serious time connecting with any of the characters, particularly because of all the uppity talk (for a twelve year old? Really? I mean, I know times were different but it seemed a little ridiculous), the names (some may find them charming and creative but I had a real hard time taking a character named Waxmelt seriously... :P), and the turning-into-a-bear twist didn't interest me. So I was already not terribly excited about finishing this by the time I got to the halfway point - and ended up starting another book in the mean time.

Since I never did finished it I can't really give a comprehensive review but it wasn't for me.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, given the main character is the kind of person who usually turns me completely off to the story. Clovermead is twelve, always getting into trouble, and always running off her mouth. Then she gets tangled up in a war between the powers of the moon lady she's always worshiped, and the powers of the bear. Along the way, she discovers that nothing is what she first thought it, including herself. The prose is very nice, and there were only a few small places I thought it slipped up. The overall theme is very Christian, which was a nice surprise. Although the story stands well enough alone, there seems to be a sequel, so I'll have to see how it continues once the library gets a copy. Recommended.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable fantasy-fiction story.

Covermead is a likeable, fallible and strong willed young girl whose adventures in the fictional world of Queensmart take her from her home and father through lands and with companions that are richly imaginative and very enjoyable.

Book one in a series, I very much hope that I get to read the others and that they are as effervescently entertaining as this one has been.

I did not read this edition; I read ISBN 0-7336-1854-5, which is not on goodreads.

[EchoHouseLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author has a unique way with words. My daughter and I enjoyed this fantasy adventure and are looking forward to getting our hands on the next book in the series. It's a bit descriptive in hunting terms and there's a lot to keep track of but kept us going through the main character and her likableness.

[Zoie]

It wasn't one of the best books this year but I liked the overall story I feel the characters could have been more in depth though. Randall used words such as fuddy duddy and dolled up that I don't believe went with the flow of the story

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. The guy Sorell in it is close to Dimitri, he has dimitri-style hair, dark eyes and he's a good fighter but not quite as bad ass as Dimitri. Clovermeads Father turns out to be a lying, cowarding ba***rd and Clovermead herself is a princess of Chandlefort and the heir to the 21st throne.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but it went really slow. i like how everything was described in such great detail. Def read this book, even if you don't like long books.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book

[Lynn Calvin]

Amazon received

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

really liked this book reminded me of tamora pierce good series

[Dani Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantasy about a young girl, her strengths and discovery of her hidden past. She fights men and bears as she discovers a "bearside" to herself. Great mental Pictures!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

has to be one of the worst books I have EVER read.

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes me back to my misspent youth.

[Div Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a fantastic boo. i loved the last part as it was suprising. dont want to be a spoiler so wont write any more :P