The Unflinching Ash
Angela Armstrong
Norsou Books
Pub. 2021

October 07, 2021

The Unflinching Ash by Angela Armstrong is the story of an awesome young girl on her way to earning the Queen’s Seal.

The story begins at a magic show. This is no simple magic but a show to try and earn the Queen’s Seal – a badge of honour and immunity. The man performing this stunt is Banyan and he succeeds in everyone’s eyes except for our favourite… Ash, who quickly discovers what he does before the stunt has even been pulled off.

Ash is a wonderfully talented young woman. She is always ready and has the room mapped out in case of emergencies. If anyone sees her smile they stop in their tracks and search for their nearest exit. When you first see her you’ll think of her as a scary person, with her hood pulled down, always covering her face.  Ash has a keen eye and will spot anything out of the ordinary before something happens. She is adventurous and ambitious, living in a world run by the Mysterious.

Ash has one older sister – Grete Appleby – who is married to her childhood best friend – Wynn. Grete has a knack for appearing whenever her name is mentioned, while Wynn is still out looking for anyone good enough to defeat Ash or even become equal to her because she is AWESOME! Wynn is a great friend and trusts his best friend. Ash has chosen the world of Mystics and intends to earn the Queen’s Seal if she can survive people’s hate. If she manages to accomplish it, it will be new to everyone and she will be called a ‘witch’.

Ren, a young man who can’t look away from Ash, speaks formally and is a bit slow but his ideas and knowledge are worth it. He is also really talented. A mysterious man who manages to trick Ash. She never even sees it coming but I’m sure she gets it afterwards. Could it be Ren or another person attempting to beat the Unflinching Ash? Or maybe an alliance is forming.

Mistress Odell Gregory first meets Ash in the morning. Ash is craving bread and it’s a beautiful morning. Odell and another accuse her of being a witch and knew that the Basilicas would never give it to her. She believes in God a lot and has a thing against witches. Many people are just like Odell which just makes it harder for Ash to complete her journey of honour and immunity.

The Queen’s Seal is a very hard thing to get and whoever has managed to impress her – and gotten the Seal – have been men. Ash is trying to do something that has never been done before and she has what it takes to accomplish it assuming she can survive being hanged, burned or drowned first.

This story is written clearly with excitement. Angela Armstrong is a very descriptive author with a few words I had to search up. I enjoyed Ash’s adventure and how it was all put together. This book was easy to read and could paint an accurate picture of what was happening in your head.

If Angela Armstrong aimed to create a cool, challenging book then she achieved it. She wrote the story in a mix of tough and small words but I could still read and enjoy it. The Unflinching Ash is an amazing book that I enjoyed a lot and would read again.

Finally, I’d like to recommend this book to teenagers as the wording is a bit difficult and the story is for older people but really to anyone confident and would like to become an escape artist with the unflinching Ash.

• Sana Sharma is 12 and lives in Hamilton.