The August 5
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
In a world rocked by revolt, your worst enemy can become your greatest hope
Fourteen-year-old Tommy Shore lives a life of privilege: he has the finest clothing, food, and education available and servants to take care of his every whim. He is the son of the chief administrator of Aeren-the most important man on the islands. Fifteen-year-old Tamsin Henry has grown up knowing only poverty, but she is the daughter of a revolutionary who longs to give her and their people more.
Ordinarily, Tommy and Tamsin would never cross paths, but on the day of a violent and deadly revolt, chance brings them together. Now the world waits to hear the fate of the August 5, five men led by, and including, Tamsin's father and captured during the uprising. As tensions between the government and the rebels escalate, Tommy uncovers a brutal truth about his father. How will he ever get Tamsin to trust that he wants to help her cause, when she believes he stands for everything she's fighting against?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Intense political ideology and oft-repeated object lessons, tinged with a hint of Evita, characterize Helland's debut, set in the fictional world of Seahaven. Tamsin Henry is the cottager (lower class) daughter of the ruling class's greatest enemy. She nearly dies, caught up in her father's machinations just before his arrest, though a strange boy saves her life. Fourteen-year-old Tommy Shores is the son of a ruthless, entitled politician of the upper-class Zunft government. Tamsin and Tommy's paths cross first on a distant shore, and then in the capital city, on the cusp of great political unrest. What follows is a somewhat tangled account of young people forced into maturity before their time as they try to free the five leaders of the class rebellion. While the novel is written in an approachable style, the lack of action, stiff lead characters, and pointed introduction of class warfare, both literal and figurative, create a somewhat slow read. The attempt at a coming-of-age tale falls just short of its mark, relying too heavily on exposition over action. Ages 12 up.
