A dazzling debut with magical places, creatures and gemstones, plus a compelling heroine young readers will love.
The first installment in the Opal Summerfield series has her discovering her magical origins and a parallel world.
Opal Summerfield, the heroine of Jones’ debut fantasy series, lives an ordinary life in the Ozarks with her adoptive parents. But on her 16th birthday, she receives a mysterious gift from the pet hawk of a mystic—a beautiful opal necklace. What she doesn’t know is that the opal necklace, which belonged to her dead mother, has great magic and will lead her to discover whom she really is. It is also coveted by, among others, the wicked Big Maggie, a disguise of Amina the Conjurer, who will stop at nothing to possess it. When hooded men kill Opal’s family, she flees deep into the wilderness, crossing a threshold into another world. An undercurrent of racial tension is at work in Jones’ novel: Opal is a blue-eyed African-American girl, “a spectacle among both the white folks and the black folks of the town.” With great attention to worldbuilding, Jones creates two very different realms, making for the interesting contrast between Grigg’s Landing in the Ozarks, where there’s a distinction between the white and black sides of town, and the magical land called the Veil. The Veil is a place full of magical creatures and places, such as flaming horses and Fallmoon Gap, a beautiful city hidden in the mountains. In the wilderness, Opal is helped by a boy named Luka, a member of the Wardens, who protect the mountains and Fallmoon Gap. There’s also the mysterious Ranger, who’s tasked with saving her. Yet Opal is no girly girl or damsel in distress. When she’s attacked by wereboars, she fights them off with the help of her magical necklace. She’s tough, brave and smart—an appealing heroine for young readers, especially girls. The narrative slows down in the dull middle sections, but it finds its stride when Opal makes it to Fallmoon Gap, where she learns how to control the magic of her opal necklace. Taking classes such as Forensic Magic & Engineering Enchantments and Magical Armaments, Opal trains to be a Warden. In the climactic, action-packed final act, Opal learns terrible truths about Amina, the Ranger and herself as she battles to protect the Helixflow, the source of all magic.
A dazzling debut with magical places, creatures and gemstones, plus a compelling heroine young readers will love.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9910376-0-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Samurai Seven Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A short, simple, and sweet tale about two friends and a horse.
A novel tells the story of two spirited girls who set out to save a lame foal in 1952.
Mary, age 12, lacks muscle control of her legs and must use a wheelchair. Her life is constantly interrupted by trips with her widower father to assorted doctors, all of whom have failed to help her. Mary tolerates the treatments, hoping to one day walk unassisted, but her true passion involves horses. Possessing a library filled with horse books, she loves watching and drawing the animals at a neighboring farm. She longs to own one herself. But her father, overprotective due to her disability and his own lingering grief over Mary’s dead mother, makes her keep her distance. Mary befriends Laura, the emotionally neglected daughter of the wealthy neighboring farm owners, and the two share secret buggy rides. Both girls are attracted to Illusion, a beautiful red bay filly on the farm. Mary learns that Illusion is to be put down by a veterinarian because of a lame leg. Horrified, she decides to talk to the barn manager about the horse (“Isn’t it okay for her to live even if she’s not perfect? I think she deserves a chance”). Soon, Mary and Laura attempt to raise money to save Illusion. At the same time, Mary begins to gain control of her legs thanks to water therapy and secret therapeutic riding with Laura. There is indeed a great deal of poignancy in a story of a girl with a disability fighting to defend the intrinsic value of a lame animal. But this book, the first installment of the Dream Horse Adventure Series, would be twice as touching if Mary interacted with Illusion more. In the tale’s opening, she watches the foal from afar, but she actually spends very little time with the filly she tries so hard to protect. This turns out to be a strange development given the degree to which the narrative relies on her devotion. Count (Selah’s Sweet Dream, 2015) draws Mary and Laura in broad but believable strokes, defined mainly by their unrelenting pluckiness in the face of adversity. While the work tackles disability, death, and grief, Mary’s and Laura’s environments are so idyllic and their optimism and perseverance so remarkable that the story retains an aura of uncomplicated gentleness throughout.
A short, simple, and sweet tale about two friends and a horse.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Hastings Creations Group
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nonpreaching testament to the power that comes from knowing and accepting yourself.
A lyrical tale that demonstrates how a voyage of self-discovery can be more important than an outer journey.
The legend of far-off Opal Cavern has long tantalized the humanlike races that inhabit the agrarian land of Tarth: Stallis, who live above ground as we do, and the taller, curly haired, semiaquatic Wassandras, who move between the surface and the golden Wasso Lake that is their home. The villagers and lake dwellers share a belief in a divine intelligence called the Plete and a peaceful, mutually supportive way of life that has them moving in and out of each other’s lives and homes. They come together to send out an expedition in search of the cavern and to take care of those who stay behind. The energetic center of both groups belongs to Curl, a young, headstrong Wassandra, whose heart is set on joining the quest, exploring the world and marrying a Stalli. The ultimate destination, Curl discovers, is within the self, where she confronts physical limitations and her true nature. Every step is slow, methodical and resonant with enormous forethought and care. This third book in the Tarth series has the gentle pace and simplicity of a YA novel, and its sufficient exposition can stand on its own. Despite the journeying framework, Byrd (The Brueggen Stones, 2007) presents not so much an action-packed story as a heart-centered exploration of the complex affections and relationships that link individuals, families, communities and species. Even Tarth’s horses contribute their own knowledge and wisdom to the quest. Compassion, kindness and trust in divine guidance are as organic and matter-of-fact as the physical laws that govern the golden waters of Wasso Lake.
A nonpreaching testament to the power that comes from knowing and accepting yourself.Pub Date: May 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1602903241
Page Count: 216
Publisher: OakTara
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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