| Jenna Heap | |
|---|---|
| 'Septimus Heap' character | |
Jenna Heap, as illustrated by artist Mark Zug |
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| First appearance | Magyk |
| Created by | Angie Sage |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Jen, by Septimus Jens by simon heap |
| Aliases | Jenna, the Queenling |
| Title | The Princess |
| Family | The Royal Family, The Heaps |
| Relatives | Silas Heap(adoptive father), Sarah Heap(adoptive mother), The Heap Brothers, Septimus Heap, Nicko Heap, Jo-Jo Heap, Edd Heap, Eric Heap, Simon Heap, Sam Heap, Zelda Heap, Milo Banda (real father), Cerys (real mother) |
Jenna Heap is a leading character in the Septimus Heap book series by Angie Sage. She is the adoptive sister to Septimus and the adoptive daughter of Silas Heap and Sarah Heap. Jenna has many friends in the book, yet also a lot of enemies. Although she acknowledges they are not her real family Jenna loves her adoptive family very much - this includes her 7 brothers, her Grandpa Benji, her Mum and Dad and her Aunt Zelda.[1]
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Jenna is the young princess (or Queenling as some of her enemies have called her), with deep violet eyes and fair complexion. She is tall for her age and wears a red tunic which is wound at the waist by a golden sash. Her dark hair is kept in place by a thin golden circlet, which denotes that she is the princess. Her appearance resembles that of all the Queens before her and she looks just like her real birth mother although at heart she is still a scruffy Heap and she wears a pair of boots on her somewhat dusty feet. Although very loving and caring at heart, she can sometimes be very stubborn as is observed by her older brothers.[2]
After Jenna was born, her mother, the Queen was assassinated and Marcia Overstrand, the then ExtraOrdinary Wizard's young apprentice, took the baby to safety (after watching the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and the Queen's murder). To protect the young princess, in case the assassin was to return, Marcia thought to give her to Silas Heap, an Ordinary Wizard. Silas' seventh son Septimus was born in the same day but he "died". Hence Silas and his wife Sarah Heap adopted the princess and raised her.
In the first book Magyk on her 10th birthday Jenna comes to know from Marcia that she is actually the princess and that she has been discovered. Marcia escaped with Jenna to the Marram Marshes and they are accompanied by Silas, his son Nicko and a Young Army Guard called Boy 412. There at Marram Marshes in Aunt Zelda's place Jenna, becomes friends with Boy 412 and learns first magic from Marcia. Jenna rescues a message rat called Stanley. She along with Boy 412 and Nicko discover a hidden Dragon-Boat which she comes to know is her legacy, and they save Marcia on it. At the end Jenna learns that Boy 412 is her long-lost adoptive brother Septimus Heap.
The second book Flyte opens with Jenna getting kidnapped by her estranged brother Simon, who takes her to his hideout in the Badlands. Jenna escapes from there and meets her brothers Septimus and Nicko at the Port but a dark stranger tails her. Jenna, along with the others is discovered by Simon's tracking ball Sleuth and they start fighting again with the help of the Dragon-Boat. Simon damages the Dragon-Boat, but gets captured. Jenna, who loved the Dragon-Boat becomes hysterical and goes to a secret room in the Palace called the Queen's room, which is only accessible by Queens or Princesses. She gets Aunt Zelda and perform the Transubstantiate Triple spell to revive the boat. In the end, the dark stranger is revealed to be her biological father Milo Banda.
In Physik, the spirit of the evil Queen Etheldredda tricks her to send Septimus back in time to her son Marcellus Pye. Jenna becomes determined to get Septimus back. She is assisted by her brother Nicko and Snorri Snorrelssen, a Northern Trader girl. Together they go back in time to get back Septimus. In the past it is revealed that Jenna has an uncanny resemblance to Etheldredda's daughter, Princess Esmeralda. It is noticeable how Jenna starts accepting her position as Princess and is shedding off her refusal to accept her royalty.
As Septimus is tricked to go on a Queste Jenna and Beetle accompany him. They go to the legendary House of Foryx where Nicko and Snorri might be trapped. Jenna helps Septimus in their search and ultimately finds them. By this time Jenna is already quite a matured girl and pro-princess. Septimus' friend Beetle develops a crush on her.
In Syren Jenna is coming back from assisting Septimus on his Queste when they meet up with Jenna's Biological father Milo Banda. Nicko Heap and Snorri Snorrelessen stay on the "Cerys" but Jenna, Beetle, and Septimus fly home on Spit Fyre. Along the way they get stranded on an island with a mysterious girl. With help of Lucy Gringe, Wolf Boy, and Jakey Fry they stop Skipper Fry and Tertius Fume from taking over the castle with an army of jinn.
Jenna is extremely close with her adoptive brothers Septimus and Nicko. Although she came to know who her real parents are, she still loves Silas and Sarah the same. When she met her real father Milo Banda at the end of Flyte she quarreled with him for not coming for her, but later both of them reconciled. Jenna loves the ghost of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Alther Mella and is sometimes awed by Marcia she dislikes Snorri because it was her fault Nicko was trapped in time but gradually she and Snorri become very close friends .
Jenna Heap has a golden circlet that she wears around her head as a crown. Jenna had a pet rock called Petroc Trelawney in the first book who used to make her remember her life at the Castle. The rock wandered away from her during one of her MidSummer Day visits. She also used to have a silver bullet and the Hunter's pistol, both of which she had acquired during her first visit at the Keeper's Cottage, when the Hunter was after her. She has a Quetzalcoatl chocolate charm given to her by Septimus which helps in her escape from Simon. In the third book Princess Esmerelda's diary is probably one of the most important items as it tells Jenna the truth about Etheldredda and gives her a warning and enough time to escape. She also has Snorri's map to the House of Foryx restored from the Manuscriptorium. She now has a pet duck called Ethel whom she saved from an orange soup from Etheldredda's time. Jenna also has the True Crown that she got after Queen Etheldredda's ghost was destroyed.
Jenna doesn't have many magical powers; she has no magical blood in her veins. She can do magic but it doesn't come very easily to her, and she will never have the trademark green eyes that characterize the wizards. However, it is implied that Queens have some form of magical power inherant in them, she also has a special connection with the Dragon-Boat which runs throughout the Queen's dynasty.
Jenna is the adoptive sister of: Simon Heap, Sam Heap, Jo-Jo Heap, Eric Heap, Edd Heap, Nicko Heap and Septimus Heap. She is perhaps closest with Nicko and Septimus, after Simon joined forces with DomDaniel in an attempt to otherthrow Marcia and kill Jenna. Sam, Jo-Jo, Eric and Edd all took up a new home at 'Camp Heap' in the heart of the Forest and refused to leave. Although they still appear to love Jenna, none attempt to make contact with the outside world at all, not even when Jenna is kidnapped by Simon, and Septimus is taken through the Doors of Time. Adoptive Parents: Silas and Sarah Heap. Parents: Milo Banda and The Queen. Other mentioned relations: Aunt Zelda, Grandpa Benjii.
The character received mostly mixed reviews from critics but positive reviews from fans. According to Sabina Qazi from Dawn.com:
Sage has given most of the other characters more attention than was warranted, blurring the line between the protagonists and the secondary characters, Jenna hardly emerge as a hero. Furthermore, the ease with which they, along with their aunt Zelda, dispatch their awe-inspiring enemy, Hunter, takes away a bit from their glory. Yet this very element, makes for light and humorous reading and renders the children more identifiable.[3]
She also said that Jenna is a well-rounded character and is identifiable in a real world scenario. Her character comes off like the new best friend somebody has in the neighbourhood. Cat Maniego from Manila Standard Today described her as a dark-haired girl with strong resolve. But she expressed disappointment over the somewhat ambiguous characterization of Jenna. According to her:
As the Princess or Queenling, she comes from a turbulent past and is thrust into the anonymous world of ordinary society without any inkling of her royal background. The reader is therefore left guessing whether or not she has it in her to rise to the tenets of her position as ruler of the Castle. Hopefully she becomes more fleshed out in the succeeding books.[4]
From a review in Childrensbooksreview, one reviewer said that with Physik the character of Jenna was more enjoyable and real than ever. She is like the main character numero uno.[5]
According to Bookguild her character comes off as:
a strong and courageous young lady, just as her adoptive brother Septimus is a strong and courageous young man. She has matured from the average little girl who wants to deny being a princess and just hide.[6]
Fantasy Literature gave a positive review for her character and said that Jenna is a bright, good and compassionate protagonist. Together with Septimus, they make a good team and are friendly, likeable and intelligent characters in their own right. However, they pointed out that her character has similarities with Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter in that Jenna is also the youngest of seven siblings, all boys, including twins. One weakness in the plot discussed in their review was the lack of a significant relationship between Jenna and her biological father. He has a cameo role in the second book, but their relationship is not explored at all.[7]
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