Know a Bored Teen in Search of a Good Book?

Is your teen bored and looking for a good book? Or do they need a new series to spark their interest? Check out the last book in Melanie Dickerson’s Hagenheim Series–retold fairy tales discerning parents can offer their middle-grade and teen readers with confidence.

The Peasant’s Dream 

By Melanie Dickerson, Thomas Nelson, July 2020, 320 pages.

Frederick, a poor farmer’s son, longs to spend his life carving wood and pursing the artistic talents God has given him. But his cruel father can no longer support his mother and sisters, and Frederick bears the burden of providing for his family alone. 

On a rare market day when his father sleeps late, his mother urges him to take his woodcarvings to Hagenheim. While there, two incredible things happen. Someone purchases one of his carvings and asks him to meet with the bishop the following week, and a beautiful fellow artist shows up to admire his work. 

He makes plans to meet the young woman the following week, and thoughts of her and a future in woodcarving carry him through the drudgery of living under his father’s thumb.

Adela, the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Hagenheim, longs to escape her sheltered life to travel. She wants to spend time developing the artistic talent God has given her. None of her siblings seem to understand her desire to paint. While she admires her siblings, and wants to find adventure and true love—she doesn’t want to experience great danger in her quest for love. 

Her parents have invited a duke’s son to visit in hopes she’ll fall in love with a suitable young man. When she sneaks into town dressed as her maid, she encounters a fellow artist whose kindness and understanding speak to her heart. 

When Frederick saves her from an attempted kidnapping, he ends up in the Hagenheim dungeon because the kidnappers falsely accuse him. Both Adela and Frederick get more adventure than they bargained for in their search for true love and the fulfillment of their dreams.

Who Will Love This Book

This reverse Cinderella story will delight Dickerson fans (and make fans out of new readers). Although written with a teen audience in mind, the storyline and action are appropriate for younger readers (10 and older). Dickerson knows how to weave an engaging fairy tale while tackling problems today’s readers face—career choice, honoring parents, and escaping abuse. 

Characters rely on scripture and prayer for personal strength, and the novels never sound preachy or heavy-handed. If you have daughters, nieces, granddaughters, or mentees, The Peasant’s Dream would make a great gift (as well as the rest of Dickerson’s fairy tale retellings). 

If you know a teen that loves a good series, gift them The Healer’s Apprentice first.