Eleven-year-old Ivy is shy and feels invisible at school and at home. She doesn't consider herself just ordinary, but Less-than-Ordinary and most definitely Not-Very-Brave. She is intelligent and kind to a fault, but finds herself either ignored or bullied.

Her parents, though good people, are often so busy Ivy is left in their dust to discover life for herself, and that is what happens one day when something very extraordinary happens to her. She stumbles upon a fairy and soon finds herself trapped in the parallel world of Zandria, where she meets Arden, the wisest man in the land, who happens to be a wizard, and his apprentice Connor.

Ivy becomes swept up in the search for the talisman of Zandria, which has been stolen, and which holds the only hope of her ever returning to her home. Here, Ivy discovers a lot about herself. She finds that she can be brave, that she has good ideas, and that she isn't ignored at all. She also discovers friends and, more importantly, how to make new friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Talisman of Zandria. Christine Norris's biography states that this is her first novel. I surely hope it isn't her last.