Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

At one time or another, perhaps we all dream of a fairy tale ending. Children, even teenagers, hope for the ever so attractive, happily-ever-after story, wishing fervently that their lives could have the touch of ease and elegance that fairy tales often suggest. Although hardened by a life of shuffling from one foster home to another, living with people who really didn’t care if she existed, it would be reasonable to assume that Sersha might harbor some of these dreams. Although, at the age of fifteen, all she really wants is to succeed in her dance audition. So when a dishevelled old man kidnaps her off the street, what was she supposed to do? And when he unravels such an unbelievable story about who she really is, should she accept his tale and follow his quest to return her to her real parents.

That’s the catch for Sersha. More than anything, she wants to meet her real parents; she wants to understand why she was abandoned at an orphanage as a wee infant, and why she had to endure hardship at the hands of uncaring foster parents. Why? Because in finding her parents, perhaps Sersha might be able to find herself. She joins the old man on his quest, but her beliefs are continually shattered and challenged as the two battle one foe after another. And the ending is definitely not what she was led to believe, but she was a princess, and that’s the real treasure that she keeps forever.

Knowing who you are, what your roots are, that’s important to a teenager, even if their attitude towards life and the older generation would suggest otherwise. Sean-Paul Thomas’ novel, The Old Man and the Princess, is not quite what the reader might expect, given the title. In fact, the lure of the tale as it unravels even suggests a deeper, sci-fi type fantasy of time travel and intergalactic space travel. Both the reader and the protagonist, Sersha, must struggle with their beliefs as the tale starts to make sense, only to be shattered by other scenarios. The quest for the cave in northern Scotland that will reveal all is both real and unreal and, in the end, a metaphor of what it means to know one’s own identity. Like Sir Galahad’s quest for the Holy Grail, Sersha and the old man follow a path of faith and discovery. This is a real page-turner, with multiple quirks and unexpected twists of fate. Life is a journey, after all, not a destination.