Will Stanton, youngest of the Old Ones, goes to visit his Welsh relatives to recover from a serious illness and complete the first quest he has undertaken on his own. Aided only by the mysterious albino boy, Bran, and his gray-eyed dog, Cafall, Will must find the magic golden harp and use it to defeat the Grey King of the mountain and awaken The Sleepers, who will be powerful allies of the Light in its final stand. Strangely enough it is the very real peril of two dogs—Cafall and Pen, who become pawns of the Grey King and are accused of sheep killing by the villainous farmer Caradog Prichard—which occasions most of the suspense. In the whole epic tug of war between Good and Evil, Cafall's death is the first loss worth tears and it makes us care deeply about his loyal, grieving owner, Bran. . . who turns out to be the son of Guinevere and King Arthur, but that's another matter. The Welsh-accented spells, the gray, spirit foxes who come out of the hills to prey, the climactic battle of enchantments between the swans and cormorants commanded by Will and the seething fish controlled by the Grey King must stir even the most sluggish imagination. Yet Will's special status as an Old One—his ability to summon a new, previously unheard of spell or power at each crisis—tends to lull the reader into passivity; there's something alienating about not knowing the rules ahead of time. Although the imagery here is somewhat more familiar and less eerie, this is every bit as grandly orchestrated as Green-witch (1974). Cooper is clearly building towards a thumping conclusion in the fifth and next volume and even those of us who have doubts about the significance of all this thunderous moral absolutism will want to get in on the action.
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 1975
ISBN: 1416949674
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1975
Sparkling and lush; a gem.
A witch and two princes are brought together in an adventure to save 8th-century Wales.
When Ffion, a hedgewitch estranged from her powerful magical family, members of the Foxhall coven, suffers a terrible loss, she finds herself in the position to team up on a quest with Taliesin, the “bastard prince” of her kingdom of Powys. Ffion sets out to walk the length of Offa’s Dyke, determined to use her own magic to destroy it in order to return the disappearing magic to Wales. Meanwhile, Tal and his brother, Dafydd, have been pitted against one another in a challenge from their father, King Cadell, to destroy the dyke: Whoever succeeds will inherit the throne. While clever, opportunistic Tal hates magic, he’s desperate to become king. Dafydd would rather spend his days working at his forge as a blacksmith, but he’s coerced by Cadell into competing. Throughout the journey to destroy the dyke and thwart their enemies, the brothers are thrown together with Ffion in ways they couldn’t have predicted. This comforting and cozy fantastical romance bursting with Welsh mythology is told from Ffion’s, Tal’s, and Dafydd’s compelling points of view. It’s an atmospheric jewel box with sympathetic characters readers will root for from the first page; they’ll only be disappointed to learn it’s a stand-alone novel and not a series opener. Ffion in particular shines as a thoughtful, brave hero with a compelling backstory.
Sparkling and lush; a gem. (pronunciation guide, author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780063083578
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gripping and authentic in the ways it portrays grief and shows how moving forward means having to let go.
After her father dies, a teen drops out of high school, loses her job, and embarks on a four-week journey through the California backcountry.
Everyone in the Bear Creek Community Service program is assigned a nickname as part of starting over with “a blank slate.” No one needs to know your past or whether you’re there by choice or court order. All that matters is the present: working on hiking trail maintenance. For Atlas James, or Maps, as she’s now known, it’s an escape from the poor decisions she’s made since her father’s death from cancer and a tribute to him. One of his dying wishes was to hike the Western Sierra Trail with her—the same one she’ll now be spending the summer working on with Books, Junior, Sugar, and King. Maps is immediately drawn to group leader King, and as secrets are revealed, the two act as magnets, attracting and repelling one another. Maps’ tangible grief is centered as she copes with the loss of the only person who understood her and always had her back. Gradually, as they clear brush, dig drainage, and battle the backcountry and their pasts, a sense of family is forged among the crew. The palpable romantic tension between King and Maps propels this beautifully written story. Junior is coded Black; other major characters read white.
Gripping and authentic in the ways it portrays grief and shows how moving forward means having to let go. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063088580
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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