Revisiting a Favourite: The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth

Lately I’ve re-read a few of my favourite books by Kate Forsyth, and one I have loved every time I’ve read it has been The Puzzle Ring. It’s a brilliant historical fiction/time slip novel that covers fairy lore, mythology, and Scottish history in a fun, exciting and accessible way for younger readers.

Synopsis:

The Puzzle Ring is an historical fantasy for children aged 10+. It tells the story of a girl who discovers that her family was cursed long ago, and the only way to break the curse is to find and fix a broken puzzle ring. To do this, she must travel back in time to the last tumultuous days of Mary, Queen of Scots … a time when witches were burnt, and queens were betrayed, and the dark forces of wild magic still stalked the land …

Hannah Rose Brown was not quite thirteen years old when she discovered her family was cursed…

Hannah Rose Brown is twelve when she discovers that her family is cursed. Desperate to find the truth about her father’s disappearance, she and her mother travel across the world to their ancestral home in Scotland. But when Hannah starts investigating the past, she discovers a chain of dark secrets that plunge her into different worlds and unexpected dangers. Hannah must risk her life to find the father she’s never met.

I loved this book because it is by Kate Forsyth, but also the setting and magic behind the story gives it a sense of mystery and fun that makes it engaging every single time I read it. It’s one of my most well-read books, and one that I always feel at home in – in the lands and castles of Scotland, with the thrills of adventure in the past and in the fairy world that Hannah and her friends venture into the past, trusting the stories of fairies and magic, and witchcraft.

Revisiting it was comforting – and yet, I still felt like I was discovering a new story whilst reading it again, and this is the magic of the storytelling and writing – it feels new, yet it also feels familiar. Scotland is a place I love and long to travel back to, so in reading this book again, I was able to travel in a time when we can’t, or when travel is very limited. This is a book I have loved since I first read it, and always will because it is a rollicking good story, and one that has a special place in my heart.