Thirteenth Child

By: Patricia C. Wrede

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times best-selling author Pat Wrede returns to Scholastic with an amazing new trilogy about the use of magic in the wild, wild west.

Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent - and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both J. K. Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

©2009 Patricia C. Wrede (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

A great start for a promising series

The life of a young woman in an alternate history of the United States, involving magic. History is described only as a passing reference, and the mechanics of magic pretty much remain a mystery throughout the book.

good book. you should buy

time and temple rise to the heart of nothing as pandas fight over popcorn and red jelly beans.

An excellent magical western.

What did you love best about Thirteenth Child?

The world that Patricia Wrede creates is fascinating. I love the revisionist history and the exciting circumstances. I love the character of Eff's struggle to find her own positive identity despite being told from a young age that she's destined to be evil. I was deeply invested in her journey.

What does Amanda Ronconi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Amanda Ronconi really captured the spirit of Eff. Her delivery really helped me get invested in the character. In addition, she does a GREAT job of voicing all of the different characters.

Any additional comments?

I haven't read the print version of this book, but I do get the impression that I missed some of the background information as a result. A lot of this universe deals with alternate history, and I feel like actually reading it would have allowed me to pick up on some of it a little more easily. For example, I didn't realize that the country is called the United States of Columbia until towards the end of the book, despite the fact that it was mentioned several times before then. I feel like there were a lot of examples where this happened. I'll still be listening to the audiobooks, however, since I really like Amanda Ronconi's performance.

Harry Potter meets Little House on the Prairie

I love this series, it's like Harry Potter meets Little House on the Prairie. Eff is a charming heroine you so fall in love with.

Great Series!!!!

I have listened to all the books in this series and they are great!!! Amanda Ronconi is stellar!!!
Every book is the series is worth the credit! I would recommend listening in order.
This is a story of a pioneer girl (Ef) in a fictional country similar to America but with magic. Magical creatures and pioneers that learn and use magic.
Ef is a strong girl and I really liked her. This is a YA series that is a great adult listen!

Good universe, bad character

I like the alternate world/history that Wrede created, and I enjoyed the narration. There are parts of the story that deserve five stars but I couldn't get past my dislike for Eff. The first four years of her life included taunts about being a thirteenth child, which superstition claims as bad. Then, she spends the next fourteen years second-guessing herself, hiding a part of herself and being less than she could be simply because of superstitions heaped on her my aunts and uncles when she was a preschooler. I spent large parts of the book hoping that she would move on. She makes some progress in this but only due to the pressures and reassurances of others - it isn't driven by anything in her own psyche. She was a disappointment but I like this alternate universe and will read the next in the series.

I enjoy this every time I re-read it..

This series is so fun to read. I have enjoyed it many times. you will too.

Interesting but it tries a little too hard

This book tries really hard to be dystopic but they take normal words like "Child" and makes it into "childlings" which is somehow supposed to make us believe that society is that far away from our reality that it changes the venacular. Sigh...
There is also the problem with believing that these people can do magic, but then there are people who prefer not to do magic and want to live without it (WHY?) and then there is the whole problem with re-writing history and making the founding fathers magicians... Double sigh....
There are a whole lot of holes in the plot and even if you can suspend your disbelief, you still have to get through the book, which is alright, but not wonderful or transforming. I woud say it would be wonderful for a 7th grader. No major love interest or plot twists except that it is a BIG DEAL that she is the 13th child, until suddenly it isn't... IDK

Fun alternative history

A wild west infested with woolly mammoths, dire wolves, dragons and smilodons? Lewis and Clark failing (probably because there was no Sacajawea)? Thomas Jefferson and Ben
Franklin such geniuses that their spells still can't be replicated? Thoroughly enjoyable.

Books 2 and 3 in the series are equally good.

If the "Little House on the Prairie" had magic.

Interesting concept. I liked it enough to finish listening to it and ended in a place that suggests a sequel. Nothing terribly new or exciting for the fantasy reader. Might be a fun story for the fans of "Ann of Green Gables" or "Sara, Plain and Tall"