Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier -ADVISABLE

Neumeier, Rachel The Floating Islands, 400 pgs. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2011. $11.55.

Violence-G

Trei is a half breed, his parents each from very different lands. After a huge tragedy, Trei is rejected by one culture and accepted by another. The people of the Floating Islands, a land full of magic and dragons, have not only taken him in but made him one of their elite flying sky warriors, the kajuraihi. When those two countries go to war, Trei must decide where his loyalties lie. In the meanwhile his cousin, Araene, has her own battles to fight in a society that doesn’t see women as equal, and in time when the magic she didn’t know she had, might be exactly what is needed to help save her land.

This was a great page turner! I loved the dual perspective of cousins, a teen boy and girl, each with their own thoughts and adventures. With the typical romance component removed there was plenty of room for a wonderful story. Lots of imagination, glossed over violence, and tons of action. Appropriate for middle school as well as high school.

MS, HS – ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Stephanie MLS graduate.

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