Using motifs and figures from medieval romances, Crompton places the reader into the forests of the fey and King Arthur's realm. Her main narrative follows the progress of Percival, who ventures forth from the forest where he has lived with his widowed mother to fulfill his ambition to be one of Arthur's knights and a seeker of the Grail. Percival, untutored in the codes of chivalry and courtly love, is helped by his childhood companion, the fey Lili, whose narrative begins the story and who has her own questthe desire to have a human heart. Peopled by familiar figures from Arthurian legend, Crompton's fantastical world is one in which the borders between fey and human, courtly codes and human failings, are frequently transgressed. The story of Alanna, Percival's mother, adds a human dimension to the fey world. Percival to grows during his knightly adventures from a somewhat naive and bumbling youth into grace. He learns to rely on his own strength rather than on Lili's magical gifts, and he learns from "Father Fisher" that the seeking of the Grail is not a matter of satisfying his own desires. Crompton succeeds in incorporating the mysticism of medieval romance into her fantasy through Percival's visions of the Grail and the maimed Fisher King, in contrast to her lessserious treatment of knightly jousts and derringdo. This wellwritten fantasy can be compared to Katherine Paterson's Parzival (Lodestar, 1998) and will please the insatiable fans of Arthurian legend. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 1999, Roc, Ages 16 to Adult, 235p, $5.99pb.Reviewer: Hilary S. Crew