Mistwood

by Leah Cypess

Overview

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood.But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062001436
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/27/2010
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
File size:	467 KB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Leah Cypess wrote her first short story—in which the narrator was an ice cream cone—at the age of six. She has degrees in biology, journalism, and law, and has traveled to Iceland, Israel, Jordan, and Costa Rica, among other places. She now lives with her family in Maryland. She is also the author of the acclaimed fantasy novels Death Marked, Mistwood, and Nightspell.

Editorial Reviews

Sustained ignorance, hostility, and confusion are difficult narrative materials, and debut novelist Cypess does not always succeed in controlling them. Her heroine, Isabel, is the Shifter, a legendary shape-shifting protector of the king; she vanishes every generation or so and must be sought anew. Brought back to the court from her lair in the Mistwood, Isabel finds that her social skills rapidly return, but not her thousand-year-old memory. King Rokan claims to know from an oracle that he is in danger, but can't--or won't--reveal where the danger lies. Isabel must negotiate the intrigues of an adversarial court and glean what knowledge she can before the warning comes to fruition. The plot has some fundamental holes--how, for example, can a creature born of a magical culture ever have functioned as a bodyguard if she is sometimes unable to sense magic being used? Still, it's evident that Cypess is an able writer: the premise is novel, her characterizations ring true, and the emotional bond that develops between Isabel and Rokan will for many readers be the most important part of the story. Ages 12–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

The greatest magic is the power of choice in this lush, romantic debut fantasy. . . . Astonishing and inspiring.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Fans of Megan Whalen Turner’s ‘Attolia’ books will be drawn to similar hidden political currents within the court, and fans of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling will wholeheartedly embrace Isabel as a reluctant warrior heroine treading in unfamiliar waters of the heart. — School Library Journal

“An unusual, suspenseful fantasy that is propelled by well-placed clues.” — ALA Booklist

“A fascinating tale of loyalty and love that female teen readers will devour.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

From the Publisher

A fascinating tale of loyalty and love that female teen readers will devour.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

An unusual, suspenseful fantasy that is propelled by well-placed clues.

ALA Booklist

Gr 7 Up—For centuries, the kings of Samorna have depended upon the immortal Shifter for protection. When the Crown Prince Rokan ventures into the Mistwood to find the Shifter, she again allows herself to be caught, to be tamed, and to be tangled into the deception and danger of the human court. The Shifter is uneasy, though. First she woke with no distinct memory of the past and now she finds that she is unable to change shape. As she adapts to palace life and painstakingly hides her inability to embrace her past abilities fully, she seems to become more the Lady Isabel as she is known in court, unwittingly displaying human emotions and hesitating in her bound duties to the crown. As Rokan becomes king, he is thrust into danger, seemingly from all sides. Isabel learns much more than she bargained for as she hunts among courtiers for conspirators and finds her loyalties divided. This story unfolds gracefully, mirroring the slow path Isabel must travel to begin understanding herself and her place in the world. Her journey in self-acceptance takes place within a country in turmoil. Fans of Megan Whalen Turner's "Attolia" books (HarperCollins) will be drawn to similar hidden political currents within the court, and fans of Kristin Cashore's Graceling (Harcourt, 2008) will wholeheartedly embrace Isabel as a reluctant warrior heroine treading in unfamiliar waters of the heart. An excellent addition for all collections with a strong fantasy following.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

The greatest magic is the power of choice in this lush, romantic debut fantasy. When she was brought from the Mistwood forest and bound to Prince Rokan, "Isabel" knew her true identity to be the Shifter, the legendary guardian of Samorna's kings. She has forgotten so much else-how to fully access her powers, even the reason for her catastrophic failure to protect the previous ruler. Still, she can tell that Rokan is lying to her. A traditional premise is transformed into a graceful meditation on the ramifications of loyalty, duty and purpose. While the magical system and palace intrigues clearly occur within a wider world, the narrative unfolds its intricate puzzlebox of secrets chiefly to explore the compassionately drawn characters. There are no simple heroes or villains here: All are trapped between past and future, burdens and hopes; every one, with the most honorable of motives, betrays and is betrayed. Yet for all the pain and violence, the story is far from bleak-above all, it celebrates the agonizing glory of being human. Astonishing and inspiring. (Fantasy. YA)

Kirkus Reviews