The Bride's Farewell

By Meg Rosoff

After the thought troubling her mind for many months, Pell Ridley decides that she doesn’t want to get married and live a life of nothing but work and family. So, the night before her wedding to fiancée Birdie, she slips outside taking with her only a few possessions, her horse Jack and her mute brother Bean. So begins a new life for Pell with new friends that she meets and old ones that she loses. She doesn’t know what she’s looking for nor where she’s going, in fact, the only thing Pell is certain of on the day she leaves is that she must get away. Along the way, believing he is helping his sister, Bean leaves Pell and does not return. This is the start of her constant troubles and pain that she can’t rid herself of. Far into her journey she meets a hunter and at lasts believes she has found refuge and rest, (at least for her body if not her mind), but soon she is on the road again determined to find her lost friends and avenge broken promises.

I must admit that at first I didn’t think much of the book; I thought that the plot was uninteresting for the first fifty pages and although I persevered I doubted it was going to improve. When Pell began to meet people her journeys became more exciting but I never really got into the book and took a long time to read it even though it’s quite short. The majority of the novel was ok and at times quite interesting but I did think the plot should have been less predictable. To contrast this though, I did think that Rosoff’s description of Pell’s past, her surroundings and her feelings was some of the best I’ve ever read!

It is obvious right from the start that Pell is the main character, however during her travels she meets a series of people, friends for a day or two but then forgotten. Although these characters have only one or two mentions each, Rosoff has described each of them with great detail and made them her own. I especially liked Eliza the baker and Esther the gypsy. Despite this Pell was still my favourite character throughout the book because, even when she was hungry, hurt, or completely exhausted she still carried on. She was brave and strong minded and when she was searching for work and she was constantly turned away because she wasn’t a boy, she didn’t give up and walked away with dignity.

My favourite chapter was when Pell is reunited with two of her sisters and they find brief happiness in working at the local stables. They seem so relieved that they finally have someone else to rely on but themselves. In these pages Rosoff has portrayed pure happiness and relief but at the same time sadness and regret as the girls once again long for their lost and forgotten loved ones.

Overall I didn't really enjoy reading this book, but I'm glad I persevered to the end. I thought that in places Rosoff’s description was genius and very interesting but that the plot should be made less predictable and more exciting. The characters were realistic but it needed some more suspense or another element for the book to really triumph. In my opinion the novel was good but not fantastic; I would recommend it to someone who likes a light and slightly romantic novel.

By Eleanor, Year 8