Let’s check out a unique upper middle grade book,
The Rifts of Rime, by Steven L. Peck.
The Story- In the beginning The Wealadend created
five animals that were quickened (intelligent and capable of speech). They were
the wolf sisters, the ants, the marmots, the gray squirrels and the regular squirrels.
These animals were to be shepherds over all others and never kill another
quickened being.
Our story begins centuries later. Among the gray
squirrels is a poet named Pinecone, who dreams of writing masterful poetry and
of flying through the sky. One day he is called into the university to visit a
master poet, Fernfron, who shares grave news. The old poet believes someone is destroying
all the copies of The Wealadend’s scrolls and asks Pinecone to leave at once
with the last copy and hide it.
Pinecone does what is asked and while he is gone, the
grey squirrels attack the other quickened, bringing them into slavery and
killing most of the elders. Pinecone now sets out on a quest to save his
people, discover his own inherited gifts and keep the faith of The Wealadend
alive.
My Thoughts- First off, a great animal tale.
Sometimes authors just can’t pull of anamorphic creatures, but Peck does a
great job. This book is filled with deep characters full of history, belief and
spunk. Pinecone’s tale is the main line, but several subplots exist involving
other of the 5 quickened species. They all tie in wonderfully to create a bold
story of honor and betrayal.
I do have to point out that the title of the book
made no sense to me. In the long run this doesn’t matter, but I did read the
book with that question in mind, and it never got answered. Also, there is a
lot of squirrel poetry. I understand its place in the story, but I thought it
was a little much.
The book is full of intense emotion and war time
violence (middle grade level). The author does a gifted job drawing the reader
into the plight of these poor creatures, who you often forget are animals. The
book is gender neutral- meaning I think both boys and girls will love it. And I
just have to say I’m still wondering- “Who stole the scroll?” You’ll have to
read it to see what I mean.
Goodreads is holding a contest to win a free copy- http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/25612-the-rifts-of-rime
