More about The Stolen One from Powell's Books or (2009 406 pages recommended for ages 14 and up an ALA Best Books for Young Adults pick) Others will be more than satisfied to revel in the lush Elizabethan setting, the stolen kisses Kat enjoys, and the magnificent gowns she makes and finally has the opportunity to wear.

Some readers may guess the truth long before Kat finds it out. Some readers may grow impatient with the heavy foreshadowing, as the secrets about Kat's birth are not revealed until very late in the novel. And I mourned my creations when they went off into the world.' When Grace dies, breaking her promise to one day tell Kat who her mother was, Kat ventures to London to find out, breaking the heart of the shepherd lad who loves her. 'Along the dark blue collar I'd stitched twining leaves, gillyflowers, and hummingbirds in gold and black. All three are skilled needlewomen who sew and embroider rich clothing for gentlefolk. Grace and her girls have one link with the great city of London where Queen Elizabeth and her court reside. And it's by God's good sense, Grace says, I never knew him, for he was the greatest scoundrel the world has yet seen.' Kat wonders why she - not Grace's own daughter, fey, deaf Anna - has won most of Grace's affection.

'I never knew my mother, the mother that birthed me. 'The stolen one' is Katherine 'Kat' Bab, a country girl of sixteen with hair 'red as the good Queen Elizabeth's.' She may not have been born a country girl.

The stolen one by suzanne crowley