The Hidden World

"[Park] should be knighted."—Entertainment Weekly

"The concluding novel in the "Roumania" series, this is the volume that ties together all the carefully crafted pieces. In this intriguing historical fantasy series, Miranda, the lost princess of Roumania, is faced with danger and uncertainties as Colonel Bocu and the ghosts of her enemies threaten to undo her. Miranda has learned that she herself is the shape-shifting White Tyger, and as the war against Turkey wages onward, Miranda learns that only Peter Gross and Adromeda can be trusted. Each character in the text is meticulously constructed, and with beautiful prose, the author is able to develop interactions and emotions that, despite the surreal elements, feel purely authentic to the reader."—Ginny Sautner, Children's Literature

"Raised in Berkshire County, MA, to protect her identity, Miranda Popescu, along with her friends Peter and Andromeda, find their way to the hidden world of Greater Roumania, where Miranda is princess of a country caught in the throes of war and suffering under a tyrant. As Miranda discovers the strange magics of her new world, her companions undergo their own transformative journeys, culminating in a desperate final battle to free Roumania from the invading Turks. [The] well-drawn characters and the vivid images of ancient magics work on their own level to provide an engaging and satisfying conclusion. A good choice . . . for most fantasy collections."—Jackie Cassada, Library Journal

"Fourth and final installment of Park's fantasy set in an alternate world where Roumania battles Turkey in the trenches of an otherworldly World War One. Teenager Miranda Popescu now lies at the center of a deadly political conflict between conjurers. Though the three most powerful of these-Miranda's Aunt Aegypta, whom Miranda can perhaps no longer trust; the Elector of Ratisbon, a sinister alchemist; and Miranda's chief antagonist, the megalomaniac Baroness Ceausescu—are all dead, they still exist in the Hidden World. Miranda possesses an organic jewel, the tourmaline, which enables her to perceive and act in both real and hidden worlds simultaneously. In the Hidden World of animal souls, she's the white tyger, a creature of irresistible physical force, but always lurking in the background are the cunning ghosts of the Elector and the Baroness. Miranda's friends and allies are equally strange: Peter Gross of Massachusetts became the Chevalier de Graz, toiling in no-man's-land between the trenches, while her childhood friend Andromeda became at once a dog and Sasha Prochenko, a soldier and free agent sworn to protect her. Meanwhile, new enemies materialize, such as Colonel Bocu, the murderous head of the secret police."—Kirkus Reviews

"In this exciting and satisfying fourth and final volume of Park's much praised alternate historical fantasy series, young, clairvoyant Miranda, now revealed as both a lost Roumanian princess and the legendary shape-shifting White Tyger, must avoid the machinations of the corrupt and violent Colonel Bocu and the ghost of wicked Baroness Nicola Ceausescu as she struggles to understand her heritage. Members of the old nobility, not all of them still living, continue to experiment with dangerous and ancient magics they only partially understand. As Roumania begins to flounder in its war against Turkey, dark rumors surface of a terrible and perhaps necromantic final weapon that may destroy the nation. Miranda can depend only on her oldest friends, the young army officer Peter Gross and the gender- and species-shifting Andromeda. Beautifully written, . . . it provides a fitting and triumphant conclusion to the series."—Publishers Weekly