Book excerpt: Princess Maagy has bid her best friend Mary a temporary farewell and boarded the big black carriage headed home for the holidays. Harvest Festival is over, and Krispen is just around the corner. Maagy will miss her friend but looks forward to seeing her again soon. Suddenly, something terrible happens. Maagy’s world is turned upside down. Her faith in everything and everyone around her is destroyed. Maagy slips into a deep malaise. She refuses to participate in decorating Avington Palace for Krispen. She won’t come out of her room and doesn’t get dressed most days. Lady Periwinkle is crushed when Maagy rebuffs their annual trip to Montclair for the Queen’s Tree Lighting. Maagy’s dear friend Lord Wesley Applegate seems to be the only one she will talk to, though reluctantly. She confides her fear and loneliness to him, but even he is unable to soothe her. On the night before Krispen Eve, Maagy is awakened by an unexpected visitor who convinces her to embark upon a clandestine adventure. Along the way, Maagy begins to wonder about her secretive companion, as they journey through the desolate, snowy countryside. Maagy’s pluck and resolve are put to the test, as she must summon all her bravery to rescue her friend. Only time will tell if Maagy’s adventure is successful and her faith is restored. This fairy tale for middle readers is the second in the seven-book Maagy Series about the coming of age of a young woman.