ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
I forbid ye maidens all
who let fly your lovely hair
to go down to Carterhaugh
for young Tam Lin is there
TURNS REAL...
Tam Linn is the perfect hero -- in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he's the only one who can help her.
WINNING IS EVERYTHING...
Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen... before it's too late.
I have to admit when I picked up Feyland: The Dark Realm
by Anthea Sharp I was nervous. While I love books about faeries, I'm really picky about the use of folklore. Thankfully, Anthea Sharp knows her lore.Our two main characters are Jennet Carter and Tam Linn. I love the names. They come straight from the Ballad of Tam Lin, an old Scottish ballad. In the prologue, Jennet is playing the final level of the new Full-D sim video game, Feyland. It's not available yet, but her father is a developer of the company, so she is the first person to play it. And, hopefully, to win it. But the final level brings her face to face with the Unseelie Queen. And... she loses. The dark queen takes a bit of her soul. Sounds interesting, yes? Only the energy the dark queen takes is real. But she has a chance to get herself back. But she needs to find a champion. On to chapter one. Months pass. Jennet and her father move after a terrible tragedy within the company where one of their own, Thomas Rimer (another name I love), dies. The game is off-limits to Jennet, but that won't hold her back. She meets Tam and invites him to game.
Another thing that caused my initial unease was the addition of gaming. I'm not a gamer. Well, I rock out like a fool with my Guitar Hero, but the sim thing is not for me. Also... technology and faeries... it didn't sound like it would mesh. But when Jennet and Tam sat down to play, they didn't just go into game. They entered Faerie. Puck was a great addition, and I loved seeing brownies, will o' wisps, and more faeries.
This story was interesting and beautifully told. It definitely surpassed my expectations. The use of folklore was fantastic. A lot of what happened I guessed, and knowing the Ballad of Tam Lin, I guessed the ending, but that didn't take any of the enjoyment out this wonderful story. Definitely check it out, and if you need more convincing check out Anthea Sharp's website to read an excerpt.
*lines at the top are the chorus of Tricky Pixie's Tam Lin, my favorite version. You can hear the entire song on the website, or buy it if you need it on your iPod. ; )
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