Those who thrilled to Hale’s re-imagining of The Goose Girl (2003) will probably be as delighted with this sequel, as Enna the forest girl takes the stage. Enna (once the closest companion to Isi, formerly the Goose Girl and now queen) watches, not understanding, as her brother learns to control fire, to hold it within himself, and to send it forth as he wills. When he chooses to consume himself in battle, she takes on his gift. Extraordinary images of fire, heat, and light fill this slightly overlong tale. Enna’s fire can be seen as desire, or a drug, or the will to power, or simply as a gift that must be made manifest. Hale’s burning prose, while weighted to talk rather than action, allows for many themes: the devoted friendship between women, as Isi and Enna risk their lives for each other; the appeal of the bad boy, as the soldier who holds Enna prisoner also lays dark siege to her heart; the gentle, devoted suitor Finn, who always manages to find a place by Enna’s side to do what needs to be done. Powerful and romantic. (Fiction. YA)
