The White Tower

by Cathryn Constable Narrated by Rosie Jones

Overview

From the author of The Wolf Princess comes a thrilling story of magic and mystery about a girl who dreams she can fly--and the ancient school where that dream might just become reality.

When Livy's accepted at Temple College, an exclusive school for the most gifted students, no one is more surprised than her. After all, she doesn't think she's very smart at all! But she does have a secret that sets her apart from everyone else...Recently, Livy can't take her eyes off the sky nor stop her heels rising off the ground. And once at Temple, though busy with new friends and classes, she can't resist climbing out onto the roof. For next to the ancient statue that guards the mysterious white tower, Livy starts to have the strangest dream that she can fly.But her dreams are more real than she thinks. And her behavior has been noticed by others, for whom the ability to defy gravity is a possible reality... one that they'll stop at nothing to use for their own ends. It's a race against time to discover that most dangerous of secrets -- will Livy survive it?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for The Wolf Princess:"Beautifully, almost poetically written, this enchanting book is destined to become a favorite of all ages." — Library Media Connection"Constable's lyrical storytelling creates a hypnotic realm of ice, and from this mythical setting emerges a message about rising above one's circumstances and discovering a sense of belonging." — Publishers Weekly"The breathtaking, wintry setting brings this old-fashioned fairy tale to life. Readers can practically hear the howling winds, the cry of the wolves, and the silent beauty of moonlit snowfall." — School Library Journal"A special read." — Shelf Awareness"Cathryn Constable knows you have only to give reality a slight push to make it marvelous. A classic winter tale." — Financial Times"An engrossing, deeply atmospheric story." — The Daily Telegraph"A richness of setting and old-fashioned sense of adventure." — The Sunday Times"Very special, with a spellbinding fairy tale ambiance. Contemporary but deliciously nostalgic." — The Bookseller (UK)

Kirkus Reviews

2017-06-27
A 12-year-old white girl, newly enrolled in a venerable London private school and mourning the death of her best friend, discovers a secret tied to the school and its founder—an ancestor of hers. Livy is feeling ungrounded—literally—after the death of her best friend from leukemia when her father accepts a job as librarian at the ancient Temple College school and, to her distress, Livy is enrolled. From the window of her tower bedroom, Livy can see a Sentinel—one of seven carved figures that grace the roof of the school. When the statue seems to move, Livy, unbelieving, crosses the rooftops with gravity-defying ease to investigate. There, she has an overpowering urge to step off into the sky, until a mysterious boy pulls her back. When she learns that Peter Burgess, her ancestor and Temple College's founder, was obsessed with trying to make blood light enough to enable a person to fly, she begins probing. Scenes describing Livy's light-as-air-ness are convincing, as is her well-developed emotional range. Secondary characters (all seem white), however, tend toward one-dimensional. The climax, twining themes of love, gravity, and time, is not wholly convincing, and there's too much final explaining, giving the end a wrapped-up feel. An original plot that hints at depths it doesn't quite reach but works fairly well overall. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170564613
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

From The White Tower:Yes.That was what the Sentinel—because it was the Sentinel, she was sure—was telling her. She looked up at the impassive face, high forehead, and full expressive lips. Those large stone eyes under half-closed lids stared ahead and lichen bloomed on the high cheekbones. There were no words from those lips, of course, the mouth was still. But what she heard, deep in the recesses of her mind, was a language, nonetheless. It was the sound of wings beating, the rush of air through the lungs.Livy gulped the night deep into her chest and felt how the air was not held in her lungs, but was absorbed into every part of her body. She felt herself dissolve the weight of her body and mix herself with the air.Should she? Putting one foot back up onto the ledge, then the other, Livy steadied herself as she stood up. She put one foot forward now, into the air, as if a bridge had appeared before her. Livy smiled and thought about the boy in the window and how she had been worried when he had looked so serene. How stupid she had been! Of course the boy would be happy standing on top of the towerhe had only to step forward and the air would support him. She, too, would step into the air, would feel it become solid under her feet.Livy looked back at the Sentinel. He looked so noble, so brave, so sure. He seemed entirely alive and weightless even though he was cut from stone.The air swept up from the ground below. She felt it climb up her body, move over her and through her. It became solid and she knew she could lean against it, tipping even farther forward. It was as if her body was dissolving into the air. The feeling of being both lighter than the air, but somehow the very air itself made the blood jump in her veins."I don't need wings," she laughed, "or clouds to step on."Livy put her arms out in front of her.She closed her eyes—one breath more—and stepped forward.

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