William Mayne writes in a spare and poetic style, which may take some getting used to, but which I believe truly reflects the workings of a child's mind. The story here is of of two young English girls who find a strange boy near their village. The village witch informs them that the boy will only stay a year and a day. At the end of that time, the boy is gone, but he will stay in the heart of the family forever.

This is a beautifully designed small volume, nicely illustrated, from a wonderful series of books.

I liked the premise behind the story; that a person's inner morals and beliefs can override a king's command and yet still work out in the end. However, both the hero and the heroine are lacking in almost all other virtues. Lady Gillian's father died to protect someone else, also to keep her and her brother safe. Even so, this doesn't keep her from blabbing the entire situation to the first stranger she meets. Gareth's behavior toward Gillian once he regains his memory is horrid; I would rather face the consequences than be bound to someone like that my entire life! Even towards the end he just barely redeems himself. Not my idea of a hero. It's not really a bad book, just not one I would recommend to the discriminating reader.

THE TRUEST HEART is a pleasant, but not great, read. It's the story of Gillian and Gareth, two people who meet in the most unusual and almost unbelievable circumstances. Gillian is of the purest heart and cannot tell a lie even to save her own life. Gareth is of the truest heart and would even give his own life to save Gillian's.

This tale covers a death sentence, amnesia, mystery, love, sensuality and a very good, unforeseeable ending. All of these are very good ingredients for a love story.

This is a wonderfully written book full of interesting characters. Gillen and Gareth definitely should be together, however, with the threat to Gillian's life and Gareth's son from the King James, things are bound to go wrong. Samantha James is a wonderful author I enjoy her books