Secret Speakers Earns Starred Review from School Library Journal
June 28, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
I hope you’ll celebrate some good news with me: just before my son’s wedding, I found out that Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate received a starred review from the School Library Journal in this month’s June issue. Since it’s an underground, character-building novel more akin to a fictional version of Half the Sky, when I saw comparisons to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien my heart took on a life of its own.
I hesitate to mention this, but I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings, so that was a shock, and an honor. I could hardly sleep a wink, which might account for the fact I nearly passed out during the wedding photos that day. I’d enjoy knowing what your thoughts are. The full review is below, but here are a few snippets–and please tweet this!
“. . . enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans.”
“. . . a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique . . . with charming, whimsical touches.”
“Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book . . . “
“. . . the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels.”
KINGWORTH, K. S. R. Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate. illus. by author. 475p. Rawle & Windsor. 2010. pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-0-9801303-5-5.
Gr 8 Up—This imaginative fantasy centers on Fair O’Nelli, who has spent the last nine years living in a cellar with her dog, Sauveren, to avoid discovery and possibly the same fate as her missing father and younger brother. She is released from hiding when she turns 13 and accepts a task from Thelras, Mother Queen of Light, to journey to the unknown Selador’s Gate in search of a mysterious individual named Selador. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Fair travels in the company of her dog and three guardians. Along the way, they encounter enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans. The book culminates in a confrontation between Fair and Harrold King, the evil ruler of Cloven Grave, and his sidekick Pewgen Flype, who is responsible for the enslavement of children in the caves of Osden Shorn. A likable heroine, Fair discovers courage, conviction, and friendship in her search for Selador. Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book, while the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” novels. Although Kingworth may borrow elements from these beloved stories, she has created a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique and as vivid as all of them with charming, whimsical touches. Secret Speakers was originally released in serial form as a cell-phone novel at TextNovel.com, where it was wildly popular.
