Rook

by Sharon Cameron Narrated by Caroline Feraday

Overview

Who needs a wedding ring when you can pick up a sword? A remarkable and utterly inventive novel from Sharon Cameron, author of THE DARK UNWINDING, which USA TODAY called "spellbindingly imaginative."

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy's arranged marriage to the wealthy Rene Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiance is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she. As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and Rene find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Daring intrigue, delicious romance, and spine-tingling suspense fill the pages of this extraordinary tale from award-winning author Sharon Cameron.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Rook:A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selectionAn Indiebound Indie Next Top Ten selectionWinner of the Parents' Choice Gold Award "The suspense kicks right off in this action-packed tale, quickly wrapping readers up in the drama." — Romantic Times"Full of derring-do and double crosses, this romantic adventure is thoroughly engrossing." — Kirkus Reviews"Cameron crafts a brilliant homage to The Scarlet Pimpernel yet also manages to make her telling unique, particularly in... the many twists, turns, betrayals, and lucky breaks [that] will keep readers breathless until the very end." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"Rook is sure to be a read all readers will remember." — Portland Book ReviewPraise for The Dark Unwinding:A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selectionWinner of the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award "Utterly original, romantic, and spellbindingly imaginative." — USA Today"Haunting thrills unfurl..." — Entertainment Weekly"Gripping twists, rich language, and an evocative landscape." — Publishers Weekly"[A] singularly polished piece." — The Horn Book"A strikingly original, twisty gothic tale that holds surprises around every dark corner." — Judy Blundell, author of What I Saw and How I LiedPraise for A Spark Unseen:"Gripping... [an] absorbing, intelligent adventure." — Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2015-02-03
A clever homage to The Scarlet Pimpernel, set in a post-apocalyptic future Europe. In a distant future where most modern technology has been lost, Sophia Bellamy, 18, leads a double life. By day, she is a young woman of the Commonwealth whose arranged marriage will save her family from debt. By night, she's the daring Red Rook, who rescues prisoners from the bloodthirsty revolutionaries of the Sunken City (which once was Paris). However, LeBlanc, the Sunken City's fanatical Ministre of Security, has tracked the Red Rook back to Sophia's home in Kent. Now Sophia must protect her family and the prisoners she has just rescued and determine whether her sly, all-too-charming fiance, René Hasard, is an enemy or an ally. Cameron (Unseen, 2014) riffs off Baroness Orczy's sentimental classic without losing any of the romance and adventure that has made it perennially popular. Rich descriptions bring Sophia's world—from the horrors of the Sunken City's prisons to her glittering social milieu—to Technicolor life. Sophia's wits and bravado make her an irresistible protagonist; René proves to be a worthy foil, though unfortunately the same cannot be said of LeBlanc. Still, the novel's 456 pages mostly fly by thanks to the nonstop intrigue and the occasional swoon-worthy kiss. Full of derring-do and double crosses, this romantic adventure is thoroughly engrossing. (Science fiction. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170508396
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/26/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Read an Excerpt

From ROOKThe heavy blade hung high above the prisoners, glinting against the stars, and then the Razor came down, a wedge of falling darkness cutting through the torchlight. One solid thump, and four more heads had been shaved from their bodies. The mob around the scaffold roared, a sudden deluge of cheers and mockery that broke like a wave against the viewing box, where the officials of the Sunken City watched from velvet chairs. The noise gushed on, over the stacks of headless bodies, around bare and booted feet that were crowded thick across the flagstones, pouring down the drains and into the deep tunnels beneath the prison yard like filth overflowing the street gutters. The city was bloodthirsty tonight. Sophia dropped her gaze from the prison yard drains, where the din of the mob cascaded from high above her head, squinting into the gloom of the subterranean passage. The tunnel was one of dozens like it, long and narrow, a mausoleum of rough rock and stink and rows of heavy, locked doors. It was why they called it the Tombs. Sophia pulled the door to prison hole number 1139 shut behind her, letting the iron lock clank quietly back into place. She had planned for five prisoners to be in hole 1139, not thirteen, and there were not enough coffins to smuggle them out. Not all of them. She needed a new plan.

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