Ice Maiden

In her latest novel Prue returns to the relationship between the elfin Tribe and demons (aka humans) of her award-winning first book.

We are transported back to 1939, the devastating rise of Nazism, and a family which has left Germany and come to England.

As a German, Franz is an outsider, and he is fearful of his Nazi parents' attitude to those who are 'other', and bullied by his schoolmates. He finds solace in nature, and through this, in his developing friendship with Edrin. She also is an outsider, hunted by the Tribe, and confused by her own feelings towards demons.

Prue's comparison between historical and magical outsiders is well-written, insightful, perturbing and well-intentioned but ultimately remains slightly unconvincing.