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Jordan, Sherryl
4 Reviews
(4)
YA
Sixteen-year-old healer Avala is the prophesied bringer of a golden age of unity and freedom for four nations bound by enmity and living in the shadow of dictator Jaganath. Though undercut by the lack of sacrifice with which the central characters achieve victory, this sequel to Secret Sacrament synthesizes powerful themes--redemption, love, homecoming--for an absorbing, affecting read.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
(3)
YA
His family wiped out by a marauding dragon, cowardly Jude of Doran teams with Jing-wei, a Chinese girl being shown in a circus because of her bound feet, to slay the dragon using Jing-wei's knowledge of Chinese technology. The framing story in which Jude tells his tale to a recording monk is amusing, the diction has an old feel without being stilted, and the action is thrilling and non-stop.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
(4)
YA
Eighteen-year-old Gabriel is not only a gifted healer, but, unbeknownst to him, he is destined to break through the corruption rotting the Empire and to save the Shinali, a native people under oppression. Although set in a fully realized fantasy world, the novel is closer to a romance in tone--especially after Gabriel falls in love with a Shinali woman. Despite the overwritten prose, teens who like both fantasy and love stories will fall hard for this one.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(4)
YA
Widowed after only two days, sixteen-year-old Marnie is viewed with distrust by the local villagers. When she befriends a deaf boy and invents a signed language, the villagers, encouraged by Marnie's hateful brother-in-law, accuse her of witchcraft and demand a trial. Although the story is unwieldy and overwritten at times, Jordan's adept characterizations, combined with romance and suspense, will draw teen readers.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
4 reviews
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