Bright Shadow

by Avi

Overview

Five wishes can save a suffering kingdom—but, as we learn in Bright Shadow, they come at a high price to 12-year-old Morwenna, who is responsible for granting them.

When Morwenna is given the gift of wizardry, she must guard the five wishes she has been granted. She must protect herself and the peasants from vengeful King Ruthvin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689717833
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/01/1994
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	7.52(w) x 10.94(h) x 0.47(d)
Lexile:	560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Avi is the author of more than seventy books for children and young adults, including the 2003 Newbery medal winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He has won two Newbery Honors and many other awards for his fiction. He lives with his family in Denver, Colorado. Visit him at Avi-Writer.com.

Date of Birth:

December 23, 1937

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

University of Wisconsin; M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University, 1964

Website:

http://www.avi-writer.com

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8 A sensitively written tale which poses philosophical questions about selfishness, selflessness and the terrible burdens of what first appear to be wonderful gifts. Young Morwenna, upon the death of an ancient wizard, finds herself in possession of the world's last five wishes. She soon discovers that this gift is a lonely burden. By a curious trick of fate, a beloved but rather simple and selfish friend believes himself to be in possession of the wishes and constantly gets himself into situations from which Morwenna must extricate him. Freed from his foolishness through his death, Morwenna must live with the knowledge that she could have saved him had she been willing to use her final wish, thus giving up her own life in return. In a straightforward manner, Avi presents a fascinating balance between the simplistic and the complex. The inner conflict constantly taking place within the more mature (though chronologically younger) Morwenna is well contrasted with that of the unsophisticated Swen. A compact and well-told story that should inspire much debate about Morwenna's predicament and what readers would do in her circumstances. Karen P. Smith, Yonkers Board of Education, N.Y.

School Library Journal