Alison Croggon

A manuscript from the lost civilization of Edil-Amarandah chronicles the experiences of sixteen-year-old Maerad, an orphan gifted in the magic and power of the Bards, as she escapes from slavery and begins to learn how to use her Gift to stave off the evil Darkness that threatens to consume her world.

The Naming

"First published as The gift by Penguin Books Australia, 2002"--Title page verso.

One of my favorites from childhood and it still holds up! I love the characterization of Maerad, her strength, and her interactions with all of the other characters. The world and her adventures through it were engaging and unique. Happy to go back and read about Maerad and Cadvan’s adventures. 

B. R.

Shelby Goodwin

** spoiler alert **
           I appreciate the crap out of this book. Croggin has clearly poured her blood, sweat, and tears into the world and characters she has built in the Books of Pellinor. Maerad is such a badass heroine and I adore Cadvan. This book is riddled with feminist manifestos and I LIVED for it. Both the beginning and ending of this first installment were great. I'm psyched for the next ones!

That being said...there was a good 100-page, excruciating chunk in the middle of seemingly endless traveling and landscape description. Essentially, if you hate the LOTR series, don't read this one. It was just an unexpected slow-down right when the plot was building and--this being the only book I brought on vacation--it didn't prove an especially entertaining beach read. As I said, it did pick up into a really great ending. 

Definitely for fans of Tolkien, high fantasy, and feminism.

The Naming

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