Lasky's latest novel focuses on the woman behind the legendary outlaw Robin Hood. Maid Marian, born Matilda Fitzwalter in the late twelfth century, is the daughter of Lord William and Lady Suzanne. After Matty's mother is slain by the order of Prince John, Lord William is stripped of his wealth. To survive, Lord William teaches Matty the difficult skill of taming and caring for wild birds (at one point, Lasky even narrates dialogue among hawks). Matty is a natural and uses her birds to hunt for food in Sherwood Forest. As Prince John's cruelty mounts, Matty and her friends begin to scheme up ways to help their starving neighbors. They reinvent themselves as the well-known legendary figures of Maid Marian, Robin Hood, and his Merry Men. Although some readers may itch for more romance and thievery, they will admire Matty's courage and tenacity as she, not Robin Hood, cleverly uses her hawks to steal from the rich in this blend of history, legend, and fantasy.

Veteran Lasky combines the Robin Hood/Maid Marian story with falconry. Matty and Fynn are childhood friends, playing together when Matty is not being taught by her father, Lord William, to work with hawks. She begins to understand hawk language, getting inside their minds as she trains them. When Prince John and his allies murder Matty's mother for her jewels, her father pines away. Loyal to King Richard, Matty, Fynn and a host of local lads work to keep their families fed and Prince John hassled—and then to raise the funds to ransom Richard when he is captured. Flash-forward: Matty has metamorphosed into Marian and Fynn into Robin Hood, paving the way for more derring-do. Matty/Marian's uncanny communication with her hawks takes the novel into the realm of fantasy as she slips into the mind of bird after bird to effect her own rescue, bring ransom to Eleanor of Aquitaine and declare her love for Fynn/Robin. Each chapter begins with a bit of hawk lore (not sourced). It doesn't bear up under scrutiny, but it's fun to read. (author's note) (Historical fantasy. 9-12)

In this lively Robin Hood and Maid Marian origin story, tragedy strikes the family of young Matty Fitzwalter when her mother is murdered and her father refuses to ally with the corrupt Prince John. In the wake of this loss, Matty's father trains her as a master falconer, an art for which she demonstrates a natural talent. As political corruption in the region worsens, Matty goes to live with her rebellious friends in the forest to enact civil disobedience and takes a new name, Maid Marian, as does her friend Fynn, who becomes Robin Hood. In the forest, Matty struggles with being a girl in a boys' world, even as she develops romantic feelings for Fynn. But personal transcendence comes through her mystical ability to experience her hawks' senses of sight and sound, as well as communicate with them in their own language. Written in lovely, fluid prose, Lasky (the Guardians of Ga'hoole series) offers an action-filled adventure that has both brains and heart. Ages 10%E2%80%93up. (May)

Gr 5-9 After her mother is murdered and the family&9;s castle is looted by followers of Prince John, Matty takes over the management of her father&9;s hawks, learning their language and coming to share their consciousness. Half-orphaned and often hungry, she grows to be Maid Marian, friend and coconspirator with her childhood companion Fynn, renamed Robin Hood. In Lasky&9;s reimagining of this legend, Marian is chief strategist of the band of boys who rob the rich, harass Prince John&9;s evil supporters, and hope to ransom captive King Richard. There is a gentle but thoroughly modern love story, too. Matty may have been her father&9;s jewel, but her growing affection for Robin does not turn her back into a decorative object; she is the heroine of her successful quest, leading both birds and boys. Her five hawks are distinctive, and for them, the author of the owl fantasy series &4;Guardians of Ga&9;hoole,&4; has created a language and a convincing, if anachronistic, falconer. Lasky nicely weaves details of 12th-century life into this suspenseful adventure whose fantasy ending may surprise but will certainly please readers. Kathleen Isaacs, Children&9;s Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD