This juvenile high-middle-ages fantasy (although classified as YA in my library, there is no romance or terrible gore, and the lead character is around 10 years old) is by the same author as Bella At Midnight and The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy (both very good) and this work is no exception.
Molly is one of seven children of an out-of-work drunken tanner and his mad wife (who isn't really mad), and at age seven, she's packed off to work in the castle because of a peculiar ability that she's inherited.
The pictures of castle life and the differences between the nobility and the servants (and even the differences in class between different ranks of servants) are very straightforward, but not preachy - just matter-of-fact.
While at the castle, Molly is chosen to polish the silver, and she soon learns from an ornate washing bowl that there are curses on the royal family - 100 of them to be precise, and they're getting worse every year. When another curse erupts in bloody violence at the royal princess' wedding, Molly, her friend Tobias, and their mysterious rescued companion must figure out how to save the kingdom, and what's left of the royal family.
I really enjoyed this one - Molly is gutsy, clever, and outspoken, and the male leads are kind and generous. The 'moral' of the story is a little simplistic, but not a bad idea to explain to kids, and thankfully free of any religious or environmental entanglements.
I don't know that I would rate this quite as high as Allbright Academy (which was simply a marvelous read from start to finish) but I would say it's easily as good as Bella, and I look forward to Diane's next work. I also feel compelled to say Bravo! for not falling into the endless sequels trap - these have been three jewels, each distinct, and I appreciate that almost more than I can say.
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