Once a Queen, Sarah Arthur
Once a Queen, Sarah Arthur
List: $27.50 | Sale: $19.25
Club: $13.75

Once a Queen

Author: Sarah Arthur

Series: The Carrick Hall Novels

Narrator: Shakira Shute, Sarah Arthur

Unabridged: 11 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/30/2024


Synopsis

CHRISTY AWARD FINALIST • ECPA CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD FINALIST • READ WITH JENNA JR. SUMMER READING PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY

In the start of a richly woven fantasy series for young readers in the grand tradition of The Chronicles of Narnia, a mysterious manor house hides the keys to shocking family secrets and rapidly fading portals to other worlds from bestselling author Sarah Arthur.

“A fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era.”—National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins

“Readers of Lewis and L’Engle, prepare to be enchanted.”—Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family

When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.

With odd things happening in the gardens at night, Eva embarks on a search for answers. Astonishingly, she learns that the Hall’s staff believe portals to other worlds exist—though hidden and steadily disappearing—and that Eva’s grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds. But her grandmother’s heart is closed to the beauty and pain of the past. Now it’s up to Eva to discover what really happened—and to decide if it’s possible that her favorite childhood fairy tales are true. As she starts unraveling the dangerous secrets around the grandmother who is more than she appears, Eva begins to wonder if she, too, is more than she understood herself to be.

About Sarah Arthur

Sarah is the author of over twelve books ranging from bestselling devotionals to critical engagement with literature. A graduate of Wheaton College and Duke University Divinity School, she's a founding board member of the annual C.S. Lewis Festival and served as writer-in-residence for the Frederick Buechner Writers Workshop at Princeton Theological Seminary. She's also the preliminary fiction judge for the Christianity Today Book Awards, through which she grades on a L’Engle-inspired curve. She can't wait till her two little boys are old enough to be read aloud A Wrinkle in Time.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on February 02, 2025

2 stars - It was okay. I was excited about reading this book and had high hopes but it just didn't work for me. What I enjoyed: The author essentially creates a dual timeline by inserting a page of fairy tale lore (created for this book) between each chapter. I appreciated the creativity of this dev......more

Goodreads review by Lenaasty on January 28, 2024

so so slow, uneventful, kept going for more thinking maybe the next chapter will be the one something will happen and no still nothing ☹️......more

Goodreads review by David on June 06, 2024

Read this one slooowwwly! I first met Sarah Arthur more than 20 years ago, when I interviewed her for The Detroit Free Press about her book, Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey through The Lord of the Rings. As a journalist specializing in covering religious and cultural diversity, I have always......more

Goodreads review by Markie on July 24, 2023

"Once a Queen" by Sarah Arthur is a captivating and enchanting young adult fantasy novel that weaves together family secrets, mysterious manor houses, and portals to other worlds. The story follows fourteen-year-old Eva Joyce, an American girl who unexpectedly spends her summer at the English manor......more

Goodreads review by Carrie on February 25, 2024

4.5 stars “What we thought was the final chapter is merely the prologue. Think of all the chapters you have yet to tell…” I don’t normally read fantasy but I am a sucker for well-written stories and if they give off Narniaesque vibes, all the more so. So I jumped at the chance to read Once a Queen by......more


Quotes

“Sarah Arthur weaves a masterful spell in her tale that will draw you in and stay with you long after you finish—like all good fairy stories are apt to do. An absolute delight. I can’t wait for book two!”—Jonathon D. Svendsen, NarniaFans (Five out of Five Shields)

Once a Queen is reminiscent of beautiful books of magic written in the past, but it’s also a fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era. With a rich sense of place, vivid characters, a page-turning plot, and a redemptive theme about the healing of generational wounds, Sarah Arthur has created a story that lingers in the memory and shapes the soul long after reading the last page.”—Mitali Perkins, National Book Award nominee and author of You Bring the Distant Near, Rickshaw Girl, and Holy Night and Little Star

“Readers of Lewis and L’Engle, prepare to be enchanted. This is a captivating novel that will make you want to revisit the fantasy stories of your childhood.”—Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family

“I discovered some of my favorite books when I was young and my family lived in a farmhouse—I would read long into the night under my blankets, flashlight in hand. Well, as soon as I started reading Sarah Arthur’s book Once a Queen, I felt like that little kid again and I simply didn’t want to stop reading. The detailed setting, the memorable characters, the mysterious storyline—everything comes together to create a generational book.”—Shawn Smucker, author of The Day the Angels Fell

Once a Queen is written in sumptuous language that makes this poet’s heart sing. The magic here is palpable as Arthur deftly ferries readers from one world to another and back again with a wave of her pen. Best of all is the tenacity of hope woven throughout this tantalizing coming-of-age tale of a young girl bravely exploring her family’s painful secret past in search of healing for them all in the present. This may be a fantasy, but it many ways it is all too real.”—Nikki Grimes, New York Times bestselling author of Garvey’s Choice and Garvey in the Dark

Once a Queen is Sarah Arthur’s love letter to great children’s literature. Throughout this book, beginning with the title, one sees her great love for classic writers such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and E. Nesbit. However, this book is no simplistic homage. Within these pages, Sarah Arthur tells her own unique tale, full of intrigue and wonder, which is sure to enchant the imagination of a new generation of young adults.”—David Bates, co-host of the C. S. Lewis–themed podcast Pints with Jack