The Beatryce Prophecy

The Beatryce Prophecy is about a young girl, Beatryce, who is mysteriously found one day by a monk named Brother Edik who lives in the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing with a mischievous goat named Answelica.  Beatryce can’t remember anything except her own name; and with the help of Brother Edik, Answelica and a lighthearted boy named Jack Dory, Beatryce goes on a quest to find out who she really and truly is.  Kate Dicamillo is one of my favorite authors!  I’ve read most of her books (The Tale of Despereaux, Flora and Ulysses and and the Raymie Nightingale series are some of my favorites!) and have really enjoyed them for the most part, and this book was no exception. The Beatryce Prophecy is a great story with funny and loveable characters, a great plot, beautiful writing and a great setting.  The book also deals with trauma a fair amount as Beatryce has been through a lot of trauma, and as we delve further into the book we learn just how deep it goes.  Several scenes in the book seem to show Beatryce dealing with panic attacks and disassociation spells very similar to what a PTSD flashback might look like; and it’s not just Beatryce.  All of the main characters are dealing with some form of trauma.  Jack Dory is an orphan who witnessed his parents’ death and Brother Edik was abused by his father and ended up becoming a monk to get away from him.  The book shows that trauma isn’t just characterized by one thing—it looks different for every person and people deal with it in different ways too.  The book can be kind of dark at times but I don’t think it’s nearly as dark as some of Dicamillo’s other books (major CWs for The Magician’s Elephant and especially for The Tiger Rising as they are quite depressing). Overall, I think the main message of the book is finding your place in the world despite the people in it hurting you.  I feel as if most people, especially if you’re different or not society’s definition of normal, can relate to this; and as someone who is an autistic multiply-neurodivergent person (and for various other reasons too), I can relate to this a lot.   It is possible, though, if you have the right people by your side and if you learn to accept who you are, to find your place in the world; and while I won’t put any spoilers here, I will say that Beatryce does just that!

“What world is this I now inhabit, and how shall I live in it?”

“We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home.”     (FYI: I think someone might have these words tattooed in the near future!)