Wish Upon a Unicorn

Lois Provost Turchetti is a professional children’s storyteller (in
English and Caribbean Creole), who also conducts educational workshops
in Toronto.

Nine-year old Arica’s adventure begins after she falls through a crack
in Grandmother’s kitchen floor and is captured by trolls. The trolls
take her and a unicorn they have captured to their leader, Raden, but
not before Arica finds out she can speak in her mind with the unicorn.
Raden puts Arica to work in the mines as a slave working alongside the
elves and unicorns. The elves regard her with hatred until she helps
save one of their number. The unicorns, for their part, recognize her as
“True One.” Just after returning to the human world in time for her
10th birthday, Arica discovers that Grandmother is the Fairy Queen,
Raden is Arica’s uncle, and her mother is human. Thus, Arica belongs
to both worlds.

The author leaves many questions unanswered. How does Arica feel now
that she knows she is both human and fairy? Does she belong more in one
world than the other? Can she coexist in both worlds? What will happen
to Raden, her father’s “evil” brother? Perhaps these and other
questions will be answered in a sequel.

A particular intriguing aspect of this fantasy/fairy tale is its
parallels to indigenous and Christian mythologies and to political and
ideological divisions within North America. Recommended.