Jem: A Fugitive from London

Jem #2

by Delaney Green

London, 1758. Orphan Jem Connolly, disguised as a boy, works for physician John Abernathy and makes medicine on the side with herbalist Margery Jamison. Life is good, except for Jem's inborn magic, which forces her to listen to what animals are thinking and to know, by touch, which illnesses hide deep inside Abernathy's patients. Lately, Jem's Second Sight has flung her spirit into birds, leaving her body behind and helpless. Jem wants to try to control her magic on her own, but Abernathy thinks Jem should study in Cornwall with Margery's Sighted grandmother. When Jem's old enemy, Patch, turns up looking for Jem, she is forced to flee to windswept Bodmin Moor and stay with Granny Kestrel, who lives near an ancient stone circle saturated with Old Magic. Can Granny teach Jem how to control her Second Sight, or will it continue to control her?

372 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2016

About the author

Speculative fiction writer Delaney Green lives in the American Midwest with a black cat and a Golden Retriever. She is the author of Jem, a Girl of London, which won a North Street Book Prize in 2015; Jem, a Fugitive from London, a Foreword Indies Finalist for Young Adult Fiction in 2016; and Jem, a Foreigner in Philadelphia, which, like all the JEM books, features a protagonist who struggles to manage her inherited magic as she interacts with eighteenth century people and events. Green's short fiction includes "Skinwalker," in Black Dandy; "Tsunami Surprise" in Murder at the Beach, a mystery and detective fiction anthology published for Bouchercon 2014; “SÁ an Bhrú: The Passage Home” in Passages, Best of New Myths Volume One; and “The Perfect Predator” in the inaugural issue (2017) of Barstow & Grand. Follow Green at www.delaneygreenwriter.com or Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/delaneygreenwriter/.

Reviews

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the "JEM" series which I was unaware of when I began reading. Fortunately for me, it did not matter. Author Delaney Green has beautifully woven the pertinent details from the first book into the storyline of Book Two. She does this so seemlessly that readers will be unaware that this information was not new to readers of Book One. By the time I reached the one-third mark, I felt that I had a solid grasp on Jem's backstory as well as an insight into her psychology.

This book contains details about the way of life in England in the years before the US (or The Colonies as they were known at the time) went to war with England for Independence.

I was fascinated with not only the core story, but also with the way the author wove historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin into the tale in such a way that it seemed not only possible, but also plausible.

Aside from the incredibly interesting and detailed historical elements of this story are also the powers that Jem has which are also intriguing.

When she flees London and goes to live on the Moor with Granny, she learns how to harness and use her powers.

Then, there is also the mystery of Jem's genealogy which will draw readers further into Jem's world.

It is impossible not to be sucked in to this book and it is incredibly hard to put it down once you begin reading.

I rate this historical fiction book as 5 out of 5 stars.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ironic a girl dressed as a boy has Benjamin Franklin as a confidant, considering one of his quotes is "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead". Seriously though, it's a fun romp through history combined with fantasy.

[Ilene Harris]

Good book, very well written.