This is the second time for me to read a book by Anne Nesbet. I liked the first book. I like the fantasy The Wrinkled Crown (Harper, 2015) even more. And this coming Monday in Portland, Oregon, the author will be speaking at a bookstore called Green Bean Books!
But back to the book…
Almost twelve-year-old Linnet (Linny) lives in Lourka where the rule is that no girl must even accidentally touch a lourka, the musical instrument with the same name as the village. If she touches one, on her twelfth birthday she’ll be taken by the voices to Away. Because Linny is so musically inclined even as a baby, her father gives her a tethered twin, Sayra, to keep her safe. Sayra, Linny’s best friend, is too kind and lets Linny off of the tether where no one can see. Of course, Linny more than breaks the rule about lourkas. But on their birthday, it’s not Linny who is taken!
The opening line is intriguing: “It was maybe Linny’s last day of all–a pretty horrible thought–but the air in the meadow was humming with sunlight, as if nothing were the slightest bit wrong.” But better yet are the struggles that follow, because Linny has to do everything she can to save Sayra.
“I write books for young people-well, to be honest, I write stories I would want to read myself, and I am younger than the average dragon, but older than most poodles.” – Anne Nesbet