Hawksmaid

Hawksmaid by Kathryn Lasky

The untold story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

Before she was Maid Marian, she was Matty....

Matty has been raised to dance well, embroider exquistely, and marry nobly. But when Matty's mother is murdered before her very eyes and her father, a nobleman, is reduced to poverty, Matty's life changes.

As the daughter of Nottingham's most famous falconer, she finds a new destiny in the hawks her father keeps. She begins to understand their thoughts and even speak their language. The beauiful merlin Marigold becomes Matty's closest winged compainion and her fiercest ally.

It is a treacherous time in England. The sheriff of Nottingham is rising to power, and a true king has been kidnapped. Determined to fight, Matty's friend Fynn becomes Robin Hood. As Maid Marian, Matty joins Fynn and his Merry Men, famously robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

If you're a fan of traditional historical fiction beware, this is a mixed of historical fiction and fantasy. Kathryn Lasky is known for her animal fantasy novels - (guardians of ga'hoole) as well as for her historical fiction novels and here is Hawksmaid she combines a bit of both.