Lavender

by Sophie Welsh

Lavender knows what her family expects of her.
She just doesn't know how to avoid it.

All her life, Lavender has wandered the forest outside her home, climbing its tall and ancient trees and following its brooks. Yet now her father has betrothed her to a boy in her village: Erkin, son of the village Elder. For Lavender, who hates being stuck indoors, has no knack for cooking, and would far rather be exploring the high branches of the forest, marriage is a fate worse than death. But fate is rarely so simple, and a chance argument reveals a secret at the heart of the forest that could change everything she thought possible.

Sometimes, friends can spring from the most unlikely places, and the biggest fears and the greatest evils don't need to come at the point of a sword. For Lavender, the struggle to make her own path has only begun.

488 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2015

About the author

A lover of sci-fi and fantasy since before she knew they were words, there's never been a time Sophie Welsh wasn't a voracious reader and an impulsive storyteller. With an enduring fondness for myths and legends from across a spectrum of cultures, and the uncanny knack to break (and then fix) every computer she's ever touched, she has went from storyboarding videogame ideas to foist upon the neighbours as a child, to writing young adult fantasy novels.

Living in Swansea, with long-standing ambitions to learn the violin, she can frequently be found writing her newest story on a computer with no sides.