Thursday 28 July 2011

Arrow by R J Anderson (9 years +)


2011, Orchard Books 
pages, Paperback
Review copy 

Children's, 9 years + 

Fairies (the good, the evil, and the adventurous), friendships strengthened, lots of danger, adventure, peril (varying from mild to moderately extreme), some humour, tissues are needed, 

Summary from Orchard Books

Rhosmari trembled as the Empress walked over to her. 'Oh, do not struggle. There is nowhere for you to escape,' the Empress said, her voice silken and sweet. Then she unsheathed a small dagger from her waist. 'This will only hurt a little...'

Rhosmari has lived her whole life on a sheltered chain of faery islands. But with the Empress's power growing, and her desire to enslave the entire faery race becoming a reality, Rhosmari knows she must fight back...

Nayuleska's reason for loving Rhosmari....she might not get that name until the end, but she is one fierce fairy. She has to go against her family in order to do what she feels is right. She learns a lot on the way - and eventually has to use a skill which she would rather not use. 

Is there another character who deserves a mention? Knife! Also known as Peri, she is naturally one of the main characters in this tale - no crow messes with her! A lot of fairies look up to her - Rhosmari does a little. 

How evil/nasty is the enemy? I think the Empress is vile - she twists everything she does so it seems reasonable, and she appears nice and kind when really she is the total oppoiste. 

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? There was plenty of danger for Rhosmari to fight through, both physical and emotional. I really enjoyed watching plot threads from earlier books be explored further. 

One of my favourite parts was...when Rhosmari gets her name changed to Arrow. There's something special whenever the fairies in this series get their proper name, because it signifies all the hurdles and hardships they've faced and overcome. 

Be sure to check out R J Anderson's website

Suggested read
Make sure you've read the first book, Knife where this fun tale begins! There's one more book coming out next year - yay! 

2 comments:

Zoe said...

I really want to read this! Is it the first one in the series? Good review! :]

Nayuleska said...

I'm glad you liked the review :) At the bottom, in the suggested read bit there's a link to the first book, Knife. The second book is Rebel. Arrow is the third book. The fourth book, out next year, is the final one in the series.