Review: The Beatryce Prophecy


A recalcitrant goat, a gung-ho orphaned boy. An exiled self-doubting monk and a battle-scared girl who would be queen. These are just some of the extraordinary characters that people The Beatryce Prophecy. Bubbling with medieval barbarities at a time when misguided kings and ruthless ambition collide with common decency and humanity, this tale embraces an astonishing number of ideas all deftly woven into one rich reading experience thanks to DiCamillo’s sure hand.

Beatryce is found blooded and battered in the stalls of Brother Edik’s monastery. She is feverish and unresponsive. The monastery’s arch nemesis, Answelica, an irascible goat who prefers to bite first and consider later, stands guard. She answers to no one but when Brother Edik announces to the goat that he must tend to Beatryce, a reluctant acquiescence occurs on Answelica’s part. And so then begins an incongruous relationship the deepens with time and necessity.

Beatryce is nursed back to health but presents a new danger for the Brothers once they discover she can read. Such abilities are considered nefarious by those in power and as such a bounty is place on Beatryce’s head. That the King wants her dead is impacted by the prophecy that Brother Edik himself penned, that a girl child will unseat a king and bring about great change.

The ingenuity of Kate DiCamillo’s narrative is its ability to tell an engrossing tale while surreptitiously alluding to a multitude of philosophies. The prophecy above is one such multilayered highly nuanced example. Beatryce’s destiny may well lead to the usurping of the King but it is also testimony to the act of bravery over fear and submission; a shout out to standing up for one’s rights and beliefs no matter their size, gender or breeding. It resonates hope for a better state of being and implies change is possible even in the hands of an innocent. These are concepts that contemporary readers will recognise and gain much from.

The trials and dangers Beatryce encounters on her quest to remember who she is and why this is important are met with the help of Jack Dory and Cannoc, the erstwhile king who dwells in the heart of the deep dark forest within a tree. As fantastical as it all sounds, DiCamillo’s enviable skill of crafting characters with authentic precision allows their personalities to permeate through to your very bone marrow. We can see, hear and feel every aspect of them in the highest resolution which makes everything more real than real.

And my favourite among these razor sharp characters? You guessed it, Answelica. The goat who represents sheer bloody determination, a mother’s protective canny and the fearlessness of the damned. She is special and she knows it although she couldn’t give a toss if you don’t think so too.

With its inspired pacing, inviting, often audacious prose, and masterful illustrations, The Beatryce Prophecy is at once a thrilling, gripping and jolly read that chimes with the purpose, power and value of storytelling. And a whole heap more but I urge you to make that journey of discovery for yourself.

Title:  The Beatryce Prophecy
Author:  Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator:  Sophie Blackall
Publisher:  Walker Books (Candlewick Press), $24.99
Publication Date:  6 October 2021
Format: Hardcover (also available in paperback)
ISBN: 9781529500899
For ages:  9 – 13
Type:  Middle Grade Fiction

Buy the Book:  Walker Books Australia, Boomerang Books

 

 

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