Forest Born by Shannon Hale
| Forest Born by Shannon Hale | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Linda Lawlor
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| Summary: An account of a delightful fantasy world, and a young heroine's struggle to understand and accept her gifts, which manages to be both thrilling and heartwarming. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 400 | Date: July 2010 |
| Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | |
| ISBN: 978-1408808610 | |
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Rinna is the youngest of seven children, and the only girl. As a child she lives an idyllic existence in the forest with her beloved Ma and a huge, loving family. But Rinna has gifts which she does not understand, and which frighten her because she senses in herself a terrible potential for evil. She loves her home deeply, but when the trees which once made her feel so peaceful appear to reject her, she is confused and unhappy to such a degree that she decides to leave the forest and join her favourite brother Razo at court in the city. This leads her into a cracking adventure full of magic, betrayal and terrifying peril.
Rinna has spent much of her childhood trying to avoid her gifts by imitating the behaviour of the people around her, and this leads her inevitably into heartbreak and anxiety, because she only succeeds in making it even harder to know her strengths and abilities. The message of this book is that you need to know both your power and your weaknesses, and act in accordance with that knowledge without fear or shame, for your own good and that of others.
There is a great deal of soul-searching in this book, and as Rinna's confusion about herself lasts for most of the book some readers might find it hard at first to identify with her. But Rinna is worth the effort: she is a delightful, honest and caring young girl who is prepared to sacrifice herself for the sake of those she loves, and as the pages turn this book shows her to be a true heroine.
Rinna's childhood prepares her well for her adventures. When she joins the court she is fifteen years old, and in some ways seems very mature for her age. At home she took on many tasks and responsibilities in a family so large some of her nieces and nephews were older than her, and this gives her the skills to care for the toddler prince Tusken. There are some lovely scenes with her brother Raza, who will surely be a perfect husband: charming, funny, brave, determined, and even good with children. If Shannon Hale drew this character from real life, then someone is a very lucky woman! But Rinna is also as unsure of herself as any teenager can be, wondering about boys and love, but not yet ready to commit herself. Being the youngest child, and the only girl, meant that from an early age she had to learn to defend herself from brothers who loved pranks, and she is able climb trees and move stealthily with the best of them – enviable gifts for any sister, and extremely useful when she finds herself battling the enemy.
Forest Born is the fourth book in the Bayern series, and when Rinna leaves the forest she meets and travels with the fire sisters, characters from the three previous Bayern books (The Goose Girl, Enna Burning and River Secrets). These three older girls, who have important roles in the kingdom despite their youth, are a real strength of this book: what girl would not want to be part of their group, to share in their strength and power and affection? They are never anything less than feminine and caring, but this does not prevent them from being determined and independent. Isi, Enna and Dasha show a loyalty unto death which nonetheless allows space for teasing, disagreement and even the occasional argument - it is little wonder Rinna longs to be with them. But the reader who is new to Bayern need not worry: Forest Born stands alone as a novel, and it is in no way necessary to have read the other books to enjoy this one.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending us this lovely book.
Further reading suggestion: Luckily for us, Shannon Hale has writtenThe Book of a Thousand Days.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Forest Born by Shannon Hale at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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