The Stolen Child

I really enjoy books that are "different" and tell the story well. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue is one of those books. It's the changeling story, a tale that is not new or different at all. Henry Day, a 7 year old boy, runs away from home one day and goes into the woods. He falls asleep and awakens to find himself being kidnapped by a troup of faeries that call him "Aniday". Meanwhile, another child--one who used to be a faery and has now molded his features to match Henry's exactly--goes "home" to take Henry's place.

Here is what I meant by the book being "different":

The new Henry and Aniday narrate the story in alternating chapters. Henry is angry, resentful and fearful of his old troup, calling them "hobgoblin" and "monsters". He is trying to learn how to be the boy who once lived in the house but there are differences that threaten to give him away and raise suspicions amongst family members. He is plagued with flashes of memory to the time he himself was taken by the faeries.

Through Aniday, we learn that there is a structure and a method to the madness of these faeries. There's a hierarchy about who leads and who gets to be the changeling next. They don't just choose any child. The child they decide upon has to be observed for a year and there are rituals to follow. At first Aniday misses his family but as he realizes he can never go back he becomes resigned and learns the ways of his troup. He makes good friends with one of them, Speck, and begins a rudimentary written account of his life with the faeries. Like the new Henry, he has flashes of memory and sometimes resentment against he who took his place.

The years go by. The new Henry grows up and the world changes. The environment is not especially friendly toward the faery troup anymore and they meet with several tragedies. Henry traces the memories of his first life back to Europe and actually finds his identity.

Inevitably, Henry and Aniday meet again. Henry now has a 7 year old son. He is tormented by his past life, his life in the woods and what he's done to Aniday. Does that make the son vulnerable to being kidnapped by what's left of the troup? Does Aniday have vengeance on his mind?

Read to find out! I was hooked right from the first page!