Patricia Bow

The Spiral Maze is Bow's most ambitious novel so far, combining the pace and tension of the best adventure stories, with a brilliant conceived “other world” which in fact grew from the warped imagination of the protagonist's undead, tyrranical ancestor. The way between worlds is the Spiral Maze itself: an innocent swirl of yew hedges on a hill top which can transform itself into an alleyway of terror, where the searchers become the hunted. Into the maze go Neil and his friend Fleur, following what may be the ghost of Neil's twin brother, Jasper. Their mission is to rescue Charlotte, a young woman who has been trapped at the heart of the maze for more than a century. But even if they can solve the maze, and find their way through, there is the problem of getting back.

The Spiral Maze invites students to consider the themes of identity and responsibility while it entertains in high order.

• Shortlisted for the 1998 CLA Young Adult Book Award
• Canadian Childrens Book Centre "Our Choice" selection

Ages 9-13

 Reviews

Brenna, Beverley. Saskatoon StarPhoenix . August 16, 1997.
Ross, Veronica. Kingston-Waterloo Record . February 20, 1998.
Toten, Teresa. Quill & Quire Quotables (June 1997).
Alison Mews. Canadian Materials (April 10, 1998)