The Healer of Harrow Point

Spiritual and metaphysical in its theme, this atmospheric first novel describes an 11-year-old boy's growing awareness of the sacredness of all living things. The story begins as Thomas sees a poacher shoot a deer--and then sees an old woman touch it and restore it to perfect health. Mesmerized, Thomas seeks out the woman, Emma, and, after struggling with his father's hope that he become a hunter, Thomas undertakes to learn all of Emma's hallowed arts and to inherit Emma's role as ""healer."" If Emma's wondrous abilities aren't conveyed with particular imagination or delicacy, they are very clearly linked to the recognizable wonders of the natural world. Walpole embeds the mystical elements in lyrical and careful observations of woods, animals and people; he has the rare ability not only to offer fresh descriptions of nature but to do so without impeding the flow of the plot. His writing bears watching. Ages 10-up. (June)