The Daughter of the Moon Author:Gregory Maguire Erikka Knorr yearns for a quiet place of her own, far from her brother and sisters (the Three Terrors), her plainspoken stepmother, and their ugly, crowded Chicago apartment. Someday, she knows, there will be beauty, peace, and order in her world. Meantime, she feels besieged. The visit of a loved aunt means that she must share her room with her... more » two noisy younger sisters. Even worse, the existence of the local bookstore, owned by Mr. Tolyukov, an old Russian bookseller who sympathizes with her artistic longings, is threatened as a result of the careless high spirits of Erikka and her friend Simon. She is determined that somehow the bookstore must be saved.
When the juxtaposition of a candlestick lent to her by Mr. Tolyukov and a painting done by her aunt sends Erikka tumbling from her bedroom in Chicago onto a moonlit mountain, she is enchanted by the wild grandeur and ready for any adventure. Perhaps there will be a magical solution to her problems. Too soon, she finds out that the strange new workd is not an alternative universe but the real mountain of Canaan Lake, New York, and the old woman named Theresa Mallaoy, who won't leave her alone to enjoy her blessed solitude, is not a witch but simply a lonely old lady.
In her disappointment, Erikka is thoughtlessly cruel to Theresa. Her belated attempts to make amends lead Erikka to a surprising discovery, an unexpected solution to her difficulties, and some important knowledge about herself.« less