Darkwood

Breen, M.E. (2009). New York: Bloomsbury. 1-59990-259-1

PLOT SUMMARY

Annie is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle, living in a land plagued by kinderstalk, a wolf type monster that has been taking away the children of the village. When her aunt and uncle sell her to a man who plans on taking her to mine for precious ringstone, she decides to brave the mysterious woods at night to escape her fate, but finds instead a fantastic journey and secrets behind her history.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

With long passages and a sophisticated mystery to unravel, this book definitely is for older tweens. The protagonist is a young girl, which might not be appealing to tween boys, but she is a very strong character and even becomes a leader at the end of the story, figuring out the strategy used by the warring enemy. There are moments in the story that could have used more explanation because they left me confused for chapters on end i.e. her discovery that she could see in the dark. At the end of the book we find out why, but it just bothered me that I didn't know why, or even what caused it until I got to the end. Her animal characteristics lead the reader to the final answer, but of course, it just bothered me that I had to keep wondering about it.

READER'S ANNOTATION

In a land where monsters roam at night in search of wayward children, few will venture far from their homes. When Annie, orphaned and lonely without her sister who was killed by one of these monsters, is sold to a mining camp, she must flee for her life, braving the night with only a few parcels of food and her two cats. After being captured and brought to the mining camp, she escapes with the intent to get the message to the king about the orphans forced to work at the mining facility. Her journey leads her to discover mysteries about her past.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M.E. Breen was previously a candidate for a Ph.D. in English Lit but was not doing well at it. She started writing Darkwood and found that she was finally going in a direction she wanted to go. Darkwood is her first novel.

GENRE

Fantasy

CURRICULUM TIES

History

Have students study the elements of strategy utilized in past wars.

BOOKTALKING IDEAS

What if you found out you were going to be sold to a mining camp? Would you go willingly or would you brave the monsters and beasts that roam the countryside?

READING LEVEL/INTEREST AGE

14 and up

CHALLENGE ISSUES

none

CHALLENGE DEFENSE IDEAS

There are no real issues for challenge in this book. Knowing library policies is certainly a way to defend the acquisition of this book.

WHY INCLUDE THIS BOOK?

I found the main character very interesting and liked her fearlessness. The fact that she traveled with her two cats who somehow keep her and themselves safe lend a magical quality to the story.