Unlovable. That's what they called her. To the Sisters of Good Salvation, girls like Tayna—the ones with minds of their own and the will to stand up—were too unruly to ever be loved. So they were taken out of circulation and put to work, leaving only the more cooperative girls to be shown to the wanna-dads and mommy-bes who could offer them a loving home. And a way out.
But that all changes one winter's night when a strange little man shows up asking uncomfortable questions, and Tayna quickly discovers that her entire life has been built on a lie. She's not even an orphan, and her parents—still very much alive, thank you very much—are trapped in a world of magic. So now it's up to her to rescue them. How ironic is that? All she has to do is escape her nunnish prison, find her way into that secret world, and lead a rescue mission.
Still, compared to being an orphaned kitchen slave? This oughta be a piece of cake.
Short-listed for a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2012.