The Whisperer
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
In this adventurous retelling of The Prince and the Pauper, the lives of a runaway royal and a carnival worker become intertwined as each is compelled to fight for his life and family. Fans of The Sixty-Eight Rooms and Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy won’t want to miss this.
Lute is a prince, next in line to the throne. Griff is a poor carnival worker who does the heavy lifting while the malevolent ringmaster orders him about. But there’s something special about Griff: he can hear the thoughts of everyone around him. And one day, he begins to connect with Lute’s mind, even though they’ve never met and are miles apart.
When Lute must run for his very life, Griff may be the only one who can help him. In a journey over land and sea, these heroes battle deadly foes and make unlikely allies, including a host of magical creatures and their caretaker, a bitter old dwarf, and a mysterious lady pirate. When the boys finally come together, they will learn they are connected in ways they could never have imagined, ways that may save them—or cost them both their lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McIntosh, best known in the U.S. for her historical romances and fantasy epics for adults, aims for a middle-school audience with this tale, first published in Australia in 2009. Chunky with exposition and informational dialogue, the story drags its heels, but colorful detail is abundant. Thirteen-year-old Griff has the unwilling ability to hear others' thoughts. He works as a stagehand for a freak show and teams up with Tess, a befriender of magical creatures, to survive and they hope escape the exploitation of greedy Master Tyren, the showmaster. Meanwhile, Lute, 13-year-old crown prince of the realm, is driven into exile by his megalomaniac uncle, Janko, and must use stealth, guile, and friends to regain the throne. Griff begins to hear Lute whispering in his head, begging for help, though Griff doesn't know who Lute is. Their adventures run in parallel until McIntosh eventually pulls them together near the end, but the emphasis on backstory and explanation rather than action and character development make the wait feel even longer than it is. Ages 8 12.
