Month: November 2018

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Mark of the Raven by Morgan Busse

Mark of the Raven is the first book in a new YA fantasy. 

Synopsis

Lady Selene is the heir to the Great House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person’s dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.

As she discovers her family’s dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family’s legacy–a legacy that supports her people–or seeking the true reason behind her family’s gift.

Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power, and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

Pros

  • I love the idea that there are seven kingdoms, each with its own secret power. The world’s history interacts with the kingdoms’ special abilities to create political maneuverings that added richness to the story.
  • Selene is a great character. She has so much internal conflict around becoming who she is meant to be. At times dark, the overall book is uplifting.
  • There’s a scene in chapter 14 that really spoke to me. Damien is practicing his special abilities (gift) to commune with the Light (the world’s deity). Reading this scene reminded me to use my own gifts for my Creator. How easy it is to forget that the abilities we have are God-given and to be used for his glory. The great thing about Christian fiction is that it can inspire you to be better, and that’s one thing this book has done for me.
  • That doesn’t mean that Mark of the Raven is a preachy book. Quite the opposite. Morgan Busse has created a world of dark and light, where gifts can be used as they were meant to be or twisted for selfish reasons, just like our world today. It shows us that good people can do bad things for what seems to be the right reason, and sometimes it’s hard to find the right path.
  • And the ending! I can’t wait for book 2. Bring it on. Now! .

Cons

  • The story gets a little dark in places. It’s necessary for the story, though, and compelling.

Final Word

Highly Recommended.

Discussion Questions

 
  1. Each kingdom had its own special gift. If you could choose one, which would you have, and why?
  2. Selene had to choose between living up to her mother’s expectations and following her heart. Have you ever experienced a time when what you wanted was different than what your parents wanted for you? What did you do?
  3. Selene did things she didn’t want to in order to protect her sisters from having to do them. Was she right in sacrificing herself in order to protect her sisters, or should she have refused to compromise herself in order to protect them?
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When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Last month I reviewed a Newbery winner which fascinated me with its intricate puzzle mystery. When You Reach Me is based on another complicated mystery, which, if I tell you the type of puzzle it is at its core, I would ruin the ending for you. So let’s just use the broad genre of science fiction to label it.

Synopsis

Written in 2009 but set in the 1970s, When You Reach Me reads like a vintage novel. Miranda is in sixth grade, lives in New York City, and Sal has been her best friend since before they learned how to talk. But when Sal gets punched by a kid for no apparent reason, he refuses to have anything more to do with Miranda. She’s hurt, but gradually finds some new friends.

Life would be okay, but mysterious things begin to happen. Her hidden emergency key is stolen. A shoe goes missing. And she receives cryptic notes from someone who knows an awful lot about her. The notes leave her thinking that tragedy could be heading her way. By the time she solves the puzzle from the notes, she might be too late to save a friend’s life.

Pros

1. Rebecca Stead had my brain whirring with possibilities from page two through the rest of the book until the satisfying final reveal. Does Miranda’s mother get hurt? Why does Miranda never want to remember the last six months of her life?
2. The chapters are titled as if they are topics on The $20,000 Pyramid TV game show, which is a fabulous detail to integrate into the setting, and highly entertaining for me.
3. Through Miranda’s new friendships, the author touches on current issues of the era, and does so in such a manner that young readers learn a great deal of the culture while they are immersed in story.

Cons

1. The average reader might get lost with so many clues to follow when none of them make sense. Rebecca Stead gives nothing away until the “veil” is lifted from Miranda’s eyes. And then it ALL makes sense.
2. Some parents may be uncomfortable with Miranda’s living situation. Her mom is single, and Mom’s boyfriend is in their home a lot. The author doesn’t specifically say he spends the night, but he does keep clothes in the apartment. They do plan to marry at the end of the book.

Discussion Questions

1. Marcus had punched Miranda’s best friend for no apparent reason. Why did she end up being Marcus’s friend?
2. If you had a friend with Annemarie’s health problems, what would you do to be helpful?
3. Miranda didn’t like Julia for a long time. What changed?
4. Is there someone in your class that you don’t like? Do you think you could change the situation for the better?
5. Who is the homeless old man?

Conclusion

Discussion question #5 will inform you if your child understood the story or not. And the answer will give him or her plenty to reflect upon regarding how people treat one another.