Cover Love: Oh my yes!! I love this cover so very much. It is what definitely attracted me to the book.
Why I Wanted to Read This:
The cover drew me in, the synopsis kept me interested. Here it is from GoodReads:
In a small river village where the water is cursed, a girl’s bravery—and the existence of magic—could mean the difference between life and death in this elegant, luminous tale from the author of Parched and Audacity.Romance?: No
Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.
Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.
But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic…
My Thoughts:
This book was written from two points of view, Luna and Perdita. The chapters for each were short and wonderfully written. Each of the stories, at their core, were about sisters. Luna's sister gets sick and she has to find a way to save her. Perdita loses her sister and needs to find her. I loved the writing in each chapter. It flowed so beautifully, it reminded me a bit of The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. I knew the stories would come together, and was pretty sure how, but the journey to that intersection was wonderful.
I was rooting for both sets of sisters the whole time. I wanted Luna to find a cure for her sister and I wanted Perdita to find hers. I felt touched by both Luna and Perdita. The story moved along so easily, it was impossible not to be caught up in their stories.
I think this has the opportunity to be very popular for it's intended audience. There are a lot of elements that are attractive to middle school readers--the length of the story, the writing, two main characters you root for, magical elements, and an interesting setting. I know several readers that will enjoy this story and will passit along to their friends.
To Sum Up: Magical, lovely short story that will be attractive to middle grade readers. The copies I bought for my library have already been circulated a few times. And an amazing cover to boot!
Book sent from Simon & Schuster for review.
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