I, Coriander by Sally Gardner is the story of Coriander, a young girl growing up in England in the time following the execution of King Charles I. Coriander is special. Not only is she the pampered daughter of a wealthy merchant, but her mother is a fairy. So Coriander can sometimes predict the future and is given a gift of silver shoes that can transport her to fairyland. But when Cromwell takes over England turning it into a Puritan state, Coriander’s entire world changes. Her father is encouraged to marry a good Puritan woman to distance himself from his support of the murdered king. Soon after his marriage he is forced to flee the country leaving his young daughter behind with his new wife, who turns out not to be a good woman after all. Coriander suffers abuse at her new mother’s hands and cruelty at the hands of a minister who moves in with them. Her life in turmoil, Coriander finds ways to survive the unsurvivable, taking readers along on an amazing journey of imagination and strength. Coriander is a great heroine in a book that uses a touch of magic to illuminate a dark period in England’s history.
I found the combination of historical fiction and magic to be a great device for the book. It allows the author to toy with time, to contrast the Puritans with the fairy realm, and to give relief from the darkness of the history. This lovely book is sure to be popular with two sets of children. One that will enjoy the fantasy and one that will enjoy the history. Encourage girls to pick this one up, they will not be disappointed.
11 thoughts on “I, Coriander”
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Waking Brain Cells 
i really liked the book hey thanks you wrote it sally gardner
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This book is great! I lived it! Are you writing a sequel? I want to own this book!
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This book is great! I loved it! Are you writing a sequel? I want to own this book!
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i love this book!!
i just read this book for 3 day!! its so nice!!
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i love this book!!
i just read this book for 3 day!! its so nice!!
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I loved this book it was awesome! The romance, magic and adventure were all pulled together to make it a wonderful story!
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This is and amazing book!
Sally has made real masterpeice!
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I LOVE magical stories and this one was so good I hope that you write a sequel.
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This was the best book i have ever read in my life. When Coriander felt sad i felt sad. When Coriander felt happy i felt happy. I hope Sally Gardner writes another book because this is the best book ever.
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I loved this book. I think you should write a sequal to this one. I didn’t realy like how it ended. Though it was good at the end where Tycho and Coriander see each other.
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i thought this book was fab i really caught a lot of attention to this book and i am writing a review about that now.
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