Summerkin

by Sarah Prineas

Overview

Summerkin, the second book in award-winning author Sarah Prineas’s fantasy-adventure series that begins with Winterling, follows Fer, a young healer and warrior who’s fought to become the Lady of the Summerlands and now faces the task of ruling over a magical people in an enchanted realm.
 
Although Fer defeated the Mor, the evil, false Lady who terrorized the Summerlands, there are still those who do not trust her. To prove herself, Fer, aided by her deep connection to the natural world and her healing arts, enters a challenging contest. If Fer fails, she will lose her land and the realm will be closed to her forever.
 
Sarah Prineas combines a brave and resourceful young heroine with a richly detailed fantasy world and beloved folklore into a story that will delight middle-grade fans of Diana Wynne Jones, Ingrid Law, and Rick Riordan.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062208545
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Series:	Summerlands , #2
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sarah Prineas lives in the midst of the corn in rural Iowa, where she wrangles dogs, cats, chickens, and goats, goes on lots of hikes, and finds time to write. She is also the author of Ash & Bramble, a retelling of Cinderella. She is married to a physics professor and has two kids. You can visit Sarah online at www.sarah-prineas.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4–6—In this sequel to Winterling (HarperCollins, 2012), Fer discovers that being the daughter of the deceased Lady of the Summerlands and vanquishing an evil usurper isn't enough to live happily ever after. Called back from the human world where she lives with her grandmother to the world beyond the Way, the girl discovers that her half-human heritage means that she must prove to the High Ones that she is worthy of being Lady of the Summerlands. She travels to the court of the High Ones with a small retinue that includes her possibly untrustworthy puck friend, Rook. There, she learns that she must compete against three other candidates for the right to be ruler. As Fer tries to win over the disdainful High Ones while remaining true to her convictions, Rook makes things worse by behaving suspiciously. Is he truly a trickster with no loyalty, as Fer's disturbingly beautiful opponent Aren insists? Deciding whom to trust becomes a life or death decision for Fer. This is a solid fantasy with enough suspense, action, magic, and warmth to keep readers happily entertained from the first page to the last. Both Rook and Fer stand out as interesting, well-drawn characters. A must for fans of the first title, the story also stands on its own and will be appreciated where high fantasy is in demand.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

A middle-grade fantasy sequel strives for lyricism but has to settle for earnestness. After Fer defeated the wicked, usurping Mór, she felt connected to the Summerlands, her mother's magical domain, as Lady. Now she must confirm her claim in a series of contests or risk being barred from the enchanted realms forever. But the High Ones hold the half-human Fer in contempt, and they despise her best friend, the puck Rook, for the treacherous ways of his kind. Fer is determined to prove herself a worthy Lady; Rook, however, is equally set on demonstrating that no puck can be tamed. While this title shows flashes of the same quiet depth and lovely imagery of its predecessor (Winterling, 2012), it mostly adheres to clichéd fairy-tale formulas that promote simplistic morality. Fer becomes a less compelling heroine, displaying a naïveté that turns "compassion" and "trust" into demonstrable irresponsibility and stupidity; moreover, for all her professed acknowledgment of cultural differences between worlds, she not only stubbornly insists on the superiority of her own values, but eventually imposes them on others by force. A disappointment; but the beauty of the Summerlands and the graceful prose that captures it still bring hope for further books in the series. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews