Author:  Willow
ISBN:  978-1-4327-4013-9

Click Here To Purchase Tirissa and the Necklace of Nulidor 

I have always been a fan of King Arthuresque and Harry Potteresque worlds.  The thought of dragons, castles in the air, and men and women of magic, have been staples in the fiction and young adult world for a long time.  And this new book proves, once again, that the fantasy genre should stay with us for a long, long, time.  
 
Our main character, Tirissa, is a twelve-year-old girl who maintains a fairly happy life in her small, magical home.  When we first meet her she is out for a walk in the woods, which turns very eerie when she notices that the forest creatures have disappeared.  Even the birds who generally sing in the trees have been silenced.  Almost immediately, Tirissa sees a huge shadow pass over her head and land in a tree.  Fearing a large hawk has scared the birds away, Tirissa runs away.  Unfortunately, back at the house, even her step-parents and siblings begin to act very strange.  The lights in their eyes seem to have gone out.  They're dull and lifeless and will only listen to commands.  It's almost as if everything and everyone she knows has become complete strangers.
 
Dashing down to the herbwoman, Mistress Farleaf, Tirissa is searching for some kind of magical answer to explain all that's going on.  Then, she meets him.  A stranger walks in who is very tall and skinny; a foreboding man who sprts round, dark eyes like a bird of prey and a long, sharpened beak for a nose.  His powers seem to have no effect on her.  Although he can make everyone turn into robots and listen to his every command, it is not so easy with Tirissa.  Soon she must find a way to hunt down a spell, idea, or perhaps a piece of jewelry that when worn around the neck protects people from the awful spell of the Beaks.
 
Racing through the Three Kingdoms, watching Tirissa discover this world piece by piece, we, the reader, are met with a pair of evil princes, an ogre that will do anything to help Tirissa find what she seeks, magic mirrors, the powers of invisibility, wood nymphs that are closer to Tirissa than she can possibly realize...and more.  This story is absolutely enchanting and a whole lot of fun.  This is one of those rare finds that any parent can sit down and read to their child and enjoy just as much as their child does.  I even love the fact that in the author's biography on the back of the book she mentions that she lives with her husband, dog, and two invisible dragons that guard the house.
 
I'd like to think, after reading this wonderful story, that I have a pair of my own dragons watching out for me.  This story proves, yet again, that fantasy and fantastical worlds are far easier to swallow than the one we live in right now.  Enjoy!
 
Click Here To Purchase Tirissa and the Necklace of Nulidor