This coming-of-age novel begins with a retelling of the Grimms' fairy tale The Six Swans, in which six princes are transformed into swans by their stepmother, and even after they are saved, the youngest brother retains a wing instead of one arm. Now 14, Prince Ardwin must deal with everything his wing brings: the taunts of cruel boys, his longing to rejoin the swans, his secret power of understanding animal speech, and a neighboring king's gift of a golden arm and a princess to wed if the prince is severed from the wing. Ardwin begins a journey that takes him into peril and leaves him with greater self-acceptance, fuller knowledge of his past, and, eventually, the girl he loves. Martin deftly weaves fairy tale into fiction, giving the novel a rich context and Ardwin a familiar past. Though the happy-ever-after ending lasts a whole chapter, readers won't begrudge their beleaguered, sympathetic hero his measure of happiness. The many original characters and unusual adventure scenes ensure that readers will remember this well-paced fantasy.

Martin begins where the Grimms' "Six Swans" concludes--with the release of the six princes from their evil stepmother's spell, but with the youngest left encumbered with one swan's wing. While burdensome, the wing confers such gifts as the ability to converse with animals. Like Tolkien's, Martin's language segues agreeably from the courtly to the colloquial, enriching a somewhat message-laden yet well-told tale.

An emotive fairytale extension thoughtfully explores the life of Ardwin, a prince with a swan's wing instead of a left arm. As in Grimm, Ardwin's the youngest of six brothers who spent years living as a swan. Is his remaining wing a blessing or a curse? It gives him emotional stirrings of wildness, but he's called a freak. His father, the king, receives an offer from another king: a truce between realms and a princess for Ardwin to marry— if Ardwin cuts off his wing in favor of a magical prosthetic arm. Troubled, unwilling to be forced, Ardwin sneaks away on a quest to find the wild swans he used to know. The journey holds some surprises. The story's ending is disquietingly random and out-of-the-blue, but that doesn't overshadow the memorable images created along the way as Martin touchingly weaves together fairy tale, the wildness of animals and lyrical characterization. (Fantasy. YA)

Gr 6-10-This fantasy continues the Grimms' tale of The Six Swans, in which six brothers are turned into swans. Through the great sacrifice of their sister, the spell is broken, but the youngest is left with a swan's wing. Ardwin is torn between his life as a prince and his yearning to take to the skies and rejoin his avian companions. Believing his father will force him to replace his wing with a mechanical arm and marry a rival king's daughter, he flees. His friends Stephen and Skye (on whom he has a secret crush) accompany him. Feeling betrayed after finding them together as a couple, Ardwin goes his own way, hoping that by switching horses with Stephen, he'll elude his father's pursuers. His adventures have only begun as he seeks out the swans he once knew, is attacked by a lion, and rescued by the same wizard who designed the mechanical arm. He also meets the wizard's automatons, his enchantress stepmother, an unusual horse, and a goose girl who is not who she thinks she is. In true fairy-tale fashion, all's well in the end and Ardwin wisely realizes that his wing is a blessing, not a curse. Like all fairy tales, there are lots of plot twists and turns and perhaps that contributes to the sometimes meandering narrative. Overall, this is a well-realized, but unexceptional story.-Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"Then what happened?" children often ask when a folktale has ended. Martin addresses this question as he extends the story, The Six Swans, from the Brothers Grimm. Ardwin, the youngest of six brothers, is left with one swan's wing in place of an arm when their stepmother's enchantment is only partially broken. Shunned by many because of his difference, Ardwin is stunned to discover that his father is considering an offer from Ulfius, king of the neighboring land. Ulfius's daughter will become Ardwin's wife if the wing is cut off and replaced by a cunning mechanical arm, devised by Ulfius's wizard. Deeply hurt, Ardwin resolves to leave his father's kingdom and rejoin the swans. The journey proves long and painful, with disappointment, betrayal, and bloodshed before Ardwin discovers his strength and claims his place. This story is a classic hero's quest, with familiar elements of magic, talking beasts, evil opponents, and faithful friends. Martin has fun weaving in references to other folktales, The Goose Girl, The Little Humpbacked Horse, and Three Billy Goats Gruff among them. As in folklore, characterization is sacrificed to story. Readers are told, rather than shown. Occasional attempts at psychological subtlety (see the portrayal of the "wicked stepmother") are not entirely convincing. The ending seems abrupt and a little too neat. Nevertheless it is a ripping good story and a natural for fans of Donna Jo Napoli, Robin McKinley, and Lloyd Alexander, as well as those who just enjoy a good adventure.-Kathleen Beck.