I adored this little known book as a child/teen and it was just as wonderful on a reread. The world she creates is rich and full of magic and culture and feels like a place I can see and inhabit. It does have one of my favorite types of fantasy style, person from our world finds her way into the other world but with some wonderful twists and turns. I read this and it's followup book when they came out but never managed the third book in the series that came out so much later. I'm reading all three together now to fully savour how much I love them.

Sibley steps through window of old house into another world where she is a princess

This story seems clichéd in light of similar novels with more accomplished story lines (e.g. Robin McKinley’s 'Blue Sword). The characters are not captivating until at least halfway through the book.
Redeeming features that kept me interested: the magical entry into a different world via an open window; the oracle and fortune teller episodes, the growing attraction between the main character (Sibby) and the Karif. Sibby becomes less of a wooden character at this point although the author’s writing style is very uneven with some passages very amateurish. The end of Book 1 is too abrupt with no foreshadowing of Sibby being returned to take up her old life. ( )

Sibby finds a portal into a mysterious other world where she joins a group of travelers on a quest to rescue a princess.

This is a high fantasy with a nice touch of escapism. Sibby, an avid reader looking for a real adventure of her own, dives into her journey with the same unquestioning enthusiasm we do in starting a new book. Instead of getting bogged down by angst and inner monologues, I got to just enjoy the ride. The overall plot is simple--go rescue the princess, defeat the evil queen, reunite with friends you met along the way--so children can understand it, but the characters and the world building is interesting enough to keep the attention of teens and adults as well. I took off half a star because the ending is rather abrupt, but hopefully it picks right back up in the second book. Great for fans of the Narnia series. ( )

I picked this book up from the Simmons Library on a whim - I had never heard of it before. I never suspected that it would be added to my favorite children's books of all time. Sibby leaps into another world and finds herself in the middle of a group of engaging characters on a quest. I'm not usually drawn to quest-type novels, but the writing and the characters drew me in, along with the feeling that Sibby is more at home here than she was in her own time and place. That feeling of an out of place youth who finds herself fitting into a fantasy realm always hit home for me as a kid (a feeling out of place kid) and it still does now. I loved this and I'm eager to pick up the sequel! ( )