The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors - ADVISABLE

Selfors, Suzanne  The Sweetest Spell  Walker and Company, 2012. $16.99  401 pages. 

Content:  Language: PG(9 swears); Sexual Content: G; Violence: PG.  

Emmeline comes from a poor village that treats her like an outcast because of her club foot.  The men are taken from her village to work in the horrid mineral mines and a flood sweeps through their village at the same time and displaces her people.  When the flood comes through, Emmeline is swept up in the raging water and taken down stream to another more prosperous village.  While Owen is out gathering his last cow from the field, he finds Emmeline barely breathing in the water.  He takes her home to his father who is a dairyman.  After Emmeline gets better, she helps Owen around the dairy and one day while he is teaching her how to churn milk into butter, they learn that Emmeline has a special gift to turn milk into chocolate.  Chocolate hasn’t been around for decades so Owen’s father advertises the chocolate, and because it is such a commodity, Emmeline is targeted and kidnapped from the dairy by a man who sells trinkets.  The kidnapper is waiting to find the highest bidder to sell Emmeline too, but as word spreads, soon the King is interested in Emmeline’s abilities. Owen is heartbroken over Emmeline’s disappearance and goes on his own adventure to find her.  Emmeline finds out how strong she really is and uses her ability to help her village.  

This is a well written book that has a great storyline with interesting characters.  

MS, HS-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.