A Tale of two castlesBy: Gail Carson Levine
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, and Mystery For Ages: 10-16 When Elodie leaves her hometown of Lahnt for the city of Two Castles, she knows that she must find work as an apprentice, or risk starvation. But when she is turned down her dream of being a mansioner (actor), she is surprised to be offered work by the dragon that solves the town's mysteries, and she is instantly swept up into a world of inducing, deducing, and intrigue. Elodie is sent as a servant to the castle of the residential ogre, where she quickly uncovers a dreadful plot against him. But time is quickly running out, and she must solve this deadly puzzle before the criminal succeeds. This book was an unexpected pleasure. It was very detailed, with many elements incorporated into the setting and culture of the town that I did not expect. Most medieval-style novels do not go so much into detail about how life functions, but A Tale of Two Castles provides unique settings with unique and distinguishable characters. The mystery was also very good, leaving just enough clues that you can start to figure it out for yourself, but not enough that you can completely solve it. Gail Carson Levine is also a master at creating relationships between characters, showing her readers their feelings for each other through actions and careful observations. This book was very entertaining and fun to read, and I would definitely recommend it. I would rate this book: A Great Read 4.5 Stars: * * * * .5 |