The Beguilers
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The author of the Switchers Trilogy “creates a convincing fantasy world” in this magical novel of a girl who sets out on a daring journey (Publishers Weekly).
Everyone in Rilka’s village knows about the beguilers: the golden-eyed, wailing creatures that come out after dark and lure people to their doom. Rilka astonishes her fellow villagers when she reveals that her Great Intention—her first act as an adult—is to capture a beguiler. During her dangerous quest to the cloud mountain, the rumored lair of the beguilers, Rilka discovers truths about the beguilers—and herself—that will change her life and her village forever.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Thompson (the Switchers trilogy) creates a convincing fantasy world built on a promising premise. Narrator Rilka is a misfit in an otherwise cooperative, if somewhat passionless, village. She's allergic to chuffies, the mythical beings that absorb emotional pain, and when she announces her first Great Intention (an act that indicates "the beginning of adulthood"), she declares that she will "seek out and catch a beguiler," one of the beautiful, ethereal creatures that haunt the village at night. Legend has it that they enchant victims who are never seen again. Her adventures alone in the mountain spark some wonderful suspenseful moments, such as when she realizes the beguilers have the eyes of chuffies, or when she discovers the mountain she's climbing is not made up of snow, but of bones. At times, Rilka's exposition as she learns valuable insights intrudes upon the pacing of the narrative, and readers may find themselves wondering throughout most of the book what Rilka intends to do with the beguiler once she captures it. The conclusion reads like a somewhat rushed attempt to tie up loose ends, but her pursuit of the beguilers and some standout supporting characters such as old Hemmy and blind Marik will keep the pages turning. Ages 12-up.