MAY 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Billie Fulford-Brown establishes an energetic voice for 12-year-old Thorn, a humble street sweep. Thorn lives in the Vale, a war-torn realm where harvesting lightning is crucial to powering the weapons used to fight its ever-threatening enemy. Thorn’s twin sister, Brier, in contrast, is one of the queen’s elite lightning harvesters. When Brier is attacked by lightning and a curse that haunts the queen comes to light, everyone must do their part. Fulford-Brown’s even pacing and passionate voice will keep listeners engaged as they enter this fantastical world and follow the determined characters who will stop at nothing to protect their home and each other. M.D. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Children must save a kingdom in a stand-alone companion to Foxheart. . . . The wicked Gulgot climbs ever closer to the top of the chasm, pushing darkness and evil before it. . . . Thorn may not recognize her own strength, but the many depictions of family, especially sisters, make it clear to readers that the gentle heart is the stronger one. Luscious writing and magical moments.” — Kirkus Reviews
“The Break, a deep chasm that splits the realm of the Vale in half, is becoming unstable lately, and the monstrous Gulgot that lives within it will soon make its way to the surface. . . . Readers of Legrand’s Foxheart will see familiar faces here, but knowledge of that book isn’t required. . . . The book’s message is a worthy one: ‘It is no small thing, to have a gentle heart.’” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Twelve-year-old twin sisters Brier and Thorn . . . live in war-torn Vale. Their soldiers battle a monster, Gulgot, who dwells in an ever-widening chasm. . . . LeGrand’s story features loving siblings with very different personalities, setting up a familiar dynamic for children. The peril always seems real, evoked fully as the author switches from Thorn’s to Brier’s to Celestyna’s to the Gulgot’s internal thoughts. . . . [An] edgy, intricate fantasy.” — School Library Journal
“Brier and Thorn Skystone are twin sisters . . . [and] answer to young Queen Celestyna, who was named to be the savior of the Vale, though that seems less and less likely as the days pass and a monster called the Gulgot strains to be released from his subterranean prison. . . . Can the three girls work together against the Old Wild magic, or is all lost? . . . This middle-grade fantasy is fun for younger teen readers, especially those who loved her Foxheart.” — Booklist
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The Break, a deep chasm that splits the realm of the Vale in half, is becoming unstable lately, and the monstrous Gulgot that lives within it will soon make its way to the surface. . . . Readers of Legrand’s Foxheart will see familiar faces here, but knowledge of that book isn’t required. . . . The book’s message is a worthy one: ‘It is no small thing, to have a gentle heart.’
Booklist
Brier and Thorn Skystone are twin sisters . . . [and] answer to young Queen Celestyna, who was named to be the savior of the Vale, though that seems less and less likely as the days pass and a monster called the Gulgot strains to be released from his subterranean prison. . . . Can the three girls work together against the Old Wild magic, or is all lost? . . . This middle-grade fantasy is fun for younger teen readers, especially those who loved her Foxheart.
Booklist
Brier and Thorn Skystone are twin sisters . . . [and] answer to young Queen Celestyna, who was named to be the savior of the Vale, though that seems less and less likely as the days pass and a monster called the Gulgot strains to be released from his subterranean prison. . . . Can the three girls work together against the Old Wild magic, or is all lost? . . . This middle-grade fantasy is fun for younger teen readers, especially those who loved her Foxheart.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The Break, a deep chasm that splits the realm of the Vale in half, is becoming unstable lately, and the monstrous Gulgot that lives within it will soon make its way to the surface. . . . Readers of Legrand’s Foxheart will see familiar faces here, but knowledge of that book isn’t required. . . . The book’s message is a worthy one: ‘It is no small thing, to have a gentle heart.’
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The Break, a deep chasm that splits the realm of the Vale in half, is becoming unstable lately, and the monstrous Gulgot that lives within it will soon make its way to the surface. . . . Readers of Legrand’s Foxheart will see familiar faces here, but knowledge of that book isn’t required. . . . The book’s message is a worthy one: ‘It is no small thing, to have a gentle heart.’
School Library Journal
04/01/2021
Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old twin sisters Brier and Thorn, who have pale skin and brown eyes, live in war-torn Vale. Their soldiers battle a monster, Gulgot, who dwells in an ever-widening chasm. With unicorn Noro, Brier harvests lightning for weapons, but is burned, and Thorn, a street sweep, assumes her identity and accepts the Queen's order to find more lightning. On her journey, Thorn discovers the lightning is actually trapped stormwitches like her new friend, Zaf, who has pale skin and white hair. While Thorn and Zaf recruit help, Brier realizes her work imprisoned witches and she repents. Queen Celestyna, meanwhile, has made a dark bargain with a witch in a desperate attempt to stop the evil encroachment. Witches, soldiers, and Vale citizens are described with various skin tones including pale, brown, and black. Thorn and Brier each play a role in establishing peace. LeGrand's story features loving siblings with very different personalities, setting up a familiar dynamic for children. The peril always seems real, evoked fully as the author switches from Thorn's to Brier's to Celestyna's to the Gulgot's internal thoughts. The dark Chasm and the black, boglike infection that spreads from it are well delineated with multisensory writing. Numerous place names, plot threads, and origin stories make for confusing world building. Some elements are intense and morally complex. It's important to find the right reader for a story where several children murder other humans and witches. VERDICT An additional purchase where readers relish edgy, intricate fantasy.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Lib. Assoc., CT
MAY 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Billie Fulford-Brown establishes an energetic voice for 12-year-old Thorn, a humble street sweep. Thorn lives in the Vale, a war-torn realm where harvesting lightning is crucial to powering the weapons used to fight its ever-threatening enemy. Thorn’s twin sister, Brier, in contrast, is one of the queen’s elite lightning harvesters. When Brier is attacked by lightning and a curse that haunts the queen comes to light, everyone must do their part. Fulford-Brown’s even pacing and passionate voice will keep listeners engaged as they enter this fantastical world and follow the determined characters who will stop at nothing to protect their home and each other. M.D. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-01-26
Children must save a kingdom in a stand-alone companion to Foxheart (2016).
In the Vale, a massive Break ripped the mountains from the now-lost lowlands. Now the wicked Gulgot climbs ever closer to the top of the chasm, pushing darkness and evil before it. Twelve-year-old, pale-skinned Brier is Westlin’s darling, riding her unicorn and capturing the lightning needed for the war; Thorn, her street-sweeping identical twin, cries easily and considers herself the shadow of her sister. But when lightning injures Brier, Thorn finds herself impersonating Brier on a perilous journey to find more ammunition to use against the Gulgot. While Thorn is the titular protagonist, the perspective shifts among both sisters as well as the 16-year-old Queen, Celestyna, and Cub, a mysterious creature orphaned by the Break. Thorn’s story comprises mostly rousing, if perilous adventure, a nascent lesbian crush, and some sad losses, but Celestyna’s arc concerns the royal curse that fights the Gulgot and contains violence at odds with the otherwise family-friendly story. Thorn may not recognize her own strength, but the many depictions of family, especially sisters, make it clear to readers that the gentle heart is the stronger one. Luscious writing and magical moments notwithstanding, the complex moral questions make this suited to an older audience than the package would suggest. Illustrations not seen.
Troubling and moving in equal measure. (map) (Fantasy. 12-14)
