Desiderata

Set on a path of humiliation and despair, thirteen-year-old Desiderata is forced to march alongside her family on the long and treacherous road to the court of their conqueror, King Charlemagne (Karolus). The headstrong young duchess has become a pawn in the political intrigues of her time. In this period piece set in eighth-century France, Desiderata lives a life of duality, of nobility and peasantry, unwillingly betrothed to Young Pepin, the despised son and heir to the throne of Karolus, while falling in love with his older brother. Readers will identify with her young adult exploration of fate, control, and free will. Her father, Odillon, said that Karolus had left them no choice, but Desiderata disagreed. For her, fighting was a choice, even when victory was not.