Book recs

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While placing a book order I came across two reviews for newer books that mention MWT and the Attolia books.


The first is the review for Gail Carson Levine's Ever. 

School Library Journal (June 1, 2008)

Gr 5-9-In this masterful fantasy told in two voices, Levine has created a mythology and society as rich and nuanced as the one portrayed in Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief (Greenwillow, 1996). Olus is the Akkan god of the winds, but he is hundreds of years younger than any of the other gods and, therefore, very lonely. He visits Hyte, a kingdom of humans, where he is intrigued by the beautiful and talented weaver and dancer named Kezi. Olus witnesses the events leading to her generous but reckless decision to offer up her life so that her father can keep the oath he's sworn to their god, Admat. He follows her, introduces himself in human guise, and the two fall in love. This is where the book deepens, even as the plot intensifies. Can Kezi love a god? Can she love a pantheistic god, even though she was raised to believe only in Admat? The nature of religious conviction and the tensions between different belief systems are questioned-but so deftly that readers are entertained by the arguments. With barely a month until Kezi becomes a human sacrifice, she and Olus search for a way to reconcile the need to honor her father's oath and their desire for one another. To prove themselves "champions," worthy of immortal life together, they each must endure a quest and face their deepest fears. The power of love and courage to overcome seemingly impossible odds and to bridge ostensibly untraversable differences are at the heart of this compelling, intensely satisfying fantasy.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

And the second is for Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Publishers Weekly (July 21, 2008)

In a land of seven kingdoms, people with special talents, called Gracelings, are identified by their eyes--Katsa's are green and blue, one of each--although she's eight before her specific Grace is identified as a talent for killing. (While in the court of her uncle, King Randa, she swiped at a man attempting to grope her and struck him dead.) By 18 she's King Randa's henchwoman, dispatched to knock heads and lop off appendages when subjects disobey, but she hates the job. As an antidote, she leads a secret council whose members work against corrupt power, and in this role, while rescuing a kidnapped royal, she meets the silver-and-gold"eyed Po, the Graced seventh son of the Lienid king. That these two are destined to be lovers is obvious, though beautiful, defiant Katsa convincingly claims no man will control her. Their exquisitely drawn romance (the sex is offstage) will slake the thirst of Twilight fans, but one measure of this novel's achievements lies in its broad appeal. Tamora Pierce fans will embrace the take-charge heroine; there's also enough political intrigue to recommend it to readers of Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia trilogy. And while adult readers, too, will enjoy the author's originality, the writing is perfectly pitched at teens struggling to put their own talents to good use. With this riveting debut, Cashore has set the bar exceedingly high. Ages 14-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Ack!  The dreaded T-word*!





*trilogy