The Stolen Child
by Keith Donohue

Wonderful must read novel by Keith Donohue.
The book begins by refuting the ambiguus term Fairy and all of its possible permutations.  The narrator finally settles on a term that his ilk like to be referred to, but basically are a tribe of changelings.

The narration swaps between Henry Day, and his abducted name of Aniday.  This Lord of the Flies tribe are decades old children that abduct a suitable child, assume their identity, and then the abducted is forced into a FIFO (First in First out) rotation to be able to live out their life as a normal human being.

The Stolen Child is a wonderful view into the lives and hopes of children born during the 1950's era and a testament to how quickly time flies. 
The father of the replaced Henry Day is obviously not fooled.  While the narration makes this change obvious about the father’s misgivings, the mother is much more subtle; the tells are not as in your face and she appears just to be happy to have a child, even if it is not her own.
The father does not acquiesce to this point of view.  He actually rejects his "new" son and makes frequent attempts to prove that this boy is not actually his.

The journey, the life and loves of both the Child and the Changeling are a very emotional and child-becoming-adult transformation as drastic as the change itself.

Recommended for all ages of children. (*****)

In my top ten all time fantasy reads...

The Stolen Child

ISBN-10: 1585478652

Review by David Pyle