Brightly Woven
Grade 7 Up—A young, rogue wizard ends a 10-year drought in an isolated mountain village. As payment he asks for Sydelle, the daughter of the village elder. Despite her protests, he whisks her away just as an invading army arrives in the village. The wizard, Wayland, has information that may prevent the coming war. But he and "his assistant" must make a harrowing, weeks-long journey to reach the capital and deliver the information. Along the way, Sydelle must overcome her anger toward Wayland, discover the dark secret that haunts him, and unravel the mystery of why he chose her in the first place. Sydelle is a strong, brave, likable heroine. Hers is a story of a young woman finding the great power within herself. Wayland is a tortured soul who saves and is saved by her. The supporting characters add color and depth to the story. Danger appears at every turn, and action keeps the plot moving briskly along. First-time author Bracken weaves a compulsively readable tale that belongs beside Kristin Cashore'sGraceling(Harcourt, 2008) andFire(Dial, 2009) and Tamora Pierce's "Song of the Lioness" series (S & S).—Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School, CA(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.