Publisher: Simon and SchusterGenre: Fantasy
Page Count: 400
Source: Received review copy from the Publisher.
Release Date: August 30 2011
My Review
Ryder is a witchlander. After his father's sudden death he is forced to grow up too fast; he takes care of the family's hicca harvest, raises his two sisters and tries to keep his mother – an outcast witch – from going off the deep end. It's not much of a life for a young man, and he dreams of something more. Little does he know, that with his mother's latest prophecie,s his hopes of something more may come true in a way he would have never expected.
It turns out that Ryder IS meant for something more. He's meant to fulfil his mother's latest prophecy, which will bring him head to head with the witchlanders' greatest enemy – The Baen – and reveal secrets that have been buried for centuries.
Leana Coakley's debut novel takes you right into an absolutely beautiful, well crafted setting. The world of the witchlanders and the baen is full of snow, waterfalls and deep forsets that help bring together the enchanting nature of the story. I found it easy to picture that I was hiking up mountains with Ryder or feeling the cold when the frost came in.
The story itself is a fairly typical one. A young character fulfilling a prophecy given at birth, trying to bring peace to his land. However, what made Witchlander's story unique was the presence of not just one, but two male leads, both with interesting and amicable voices. There was also no central love story that took away from the basic message and story of the novel. Given some of the current trends in YA literature (i.e. Singular female leads, complicated love triangles and over the top romance) Witchlanders was a refreshing and welcome read.
Overall an excellent fantasy novel that draws you into the story and setting, some fantastic characters (which you are sure to grow attached to) and a positive message of endurance, dreams and the value of diversity. Witchlanders should definitely be on your fall reading list.
About the Author
Lena Coakley was born in Milford, Connecticut and grew up on Long Island. In High School, Creative Writing was the only course she ever failed (nothing was ever good enough to hand in!), but, undeterred, she went on to study writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in Toronto, Canada. Witchlanders is her debut novel.
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