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Monday, March 31, 2008

The Dream-Maker's Magic

Shinn, Sharon. The Dream-Maker's Magic. I didn't realize that this was the third in this YA trilogy until I started this review and noticed the blurb on the inside flap. No problem, though, the book can stand alone.

Unlike the previous works I've read by Shinn, this is a very quiet tale about the two young people whose friendship gives them the strength to survive and grow in a positive way in spite of their personal circumstances. It is a novel about the small miracles of friendship and kindness that can create the larger miracles that enable us to make the most of our lives.

Kellen's mother insists she is a boy and her obsessive behavior finally causes her husband to abandon them. He continues to send funds when he can, but he can't live with the strange obsession. While Kellen deals with the problem of her mother's behavior and her own strange position in society, she is befriended first by a teacher whose interference enables her to attend school where she meets Gryffin, a boy who must live with pain and twisted legs. The two children form a life-long friendship and provide support for each other through the trials they must endure. Kellen and Gryffin are fortunate to find each other and to find that there are other caring people who offer opportunities and sanctuary.

Although there are disturbed, selfish, and cruel people in this world, Kellen and Gryffin are fortunate to meet, befriend, and be befriended by a number of people whose kindness creates ripples around them.

There are also some magical characters: a Safe-Keeper, a Truth-Teller, and a Dream-Maker who provide their services, but the real magic is in each individual.

Fiction. YA. Fantasy. 2006. 261 pages.

7 comments:

  1. Oh I love the sound of this one! I'm going to pop onto my library OPAC right now to see if I can get my hands on it.

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  2. I read this trilogy and I have to say that I think this one was my favourite, but the other two are worth reading as well. They are all quite easily standalone books, though, so order is not essential.

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  3. Fantastic cover, and the story it houses sounds interesting too!

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  4. I have this trilogy and am really looking forward to getting around to it. It will be my first books by Shinn and I have heard great things about her.

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  5. Esther - YA novels are such fast and fun reads. Hope you find a copy.

    Kailana - This one really does stand alone, but I am curious about the other two in the series!

    Carl - Cover and content - great combination!

    Rhinoa - I've found all of Shinn's books to be quite different, but I've enjoyed each of them.

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  6. This sounds absolutely beautiful, and your description of it reminds me a little of Ursula Le Guin's Gifts, which was a book I LOVED.

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  7. Nymeth - I am really going to have to read Le Guin. I watched The Jane Austen Book Club on Sun. night and the idea of the Jane Austen fan writing off science fiction and refusing to read the Le Guin books just hooked me. Then, of course, she shows up in your comment and on Jill's post referring to her essays.

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