Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear Hardcover - 2004

From the publisher

Twelve-year-old Clovermead Wickward's head is filled with stories of adventure. She dreams about the thrill of a sword fight, the excitement of heroic quests, and the clash of mighty armies. The last thing Clovermead expects is for those dreams to come true. But it seems that her beloved father, Waxmelt, is not who she has believed him to be. Waxmelt has always told Clovermead that after her mother died in childbirth, he moved them far away to escape her memory. Now, as Clovermead becomes aware of strange new powers within her, she realizes that her father is harboring secrets that threaten to tear their small family apart.

At the same time, the good nuns of Lady Moon are waging an epic battle against the onslaught of the evil bear-priests of Lord Ursus, whose powers are fed by blood and carnage. Clovermead and Waxmelt suddenly find themselves thrust into the middle of a war between the city of Low Branding, which has allied itself with Lord Ursus, and the city of Chandlefort, long a champion of Lady Moon.

A richly imagined and stunning novel that explores the moral choices we must make as we grow up, "Clovermead" will resonate in the minds and hearts of readers everywhere.