Set in 17th century London, I, Coriander is the story of a girl who finds things very strange. Things go on around her that she doesn’t understand like her father is constantly saying, “Don’t touch these, don’t touch those,” especially with these silver shoes that she found with the letter “C” for Coriander, but apparently she can’t have them. And then things get much more complicated. Her mom dies at the sight of a crow, her dad marries a woman who is way too religious, and to top it all off, her dad is about to be taken because it is found out that he helped King Charles escape. And then it all makes sense. It turns out that her dad’s new wife is trying to get a new accomplice. Coriander has to solve the mystery of why all this is happening to her and only her.
I liked this story because it is well-written. It is a bunch of little miniature stories about Coriander’s life coming together strung around something that no person can understand: a shadow. Coriander’s life is a story of mishaps. Nothing seems to go right for her, and then she discovers something of her mom’s that was given to her mom, but was meant for Coriander. I, Coriander was a mix of things: It was a fairy tale, a drama, even a love story. Everyone should read this and I’m surprised this isn’t a classic. Sally Gardner should be famous for this book, but very few people read it.
Ewandini is a Junior Cannonballer.