ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
I was marked from birth as belonging to the Goddess Epona--but that didn't make my life easy.
Because of my "blessings," I was set apart, worshipped, unable to make real connections with others. Then came the Feeling, and with it a glimpse of my destiny. It led me to the MacCallen castle of legend, deserted since the terrible Fomorian war.
I followed the wordless call to breathe new life into a place long dead, but I didn't realize there were dark remnants of the war lingering in the nearby forest--victims and survivors who remained hidden. Others marked as different, powerful. Feared.
My choice was now twofold. I could keep to the happiness and safety of my newfound home, or I could choose a path that led to something more terrible, more dangerous, more thrilling than anything I'd ever expected.
And in that future I might never be alone again. . .
Elphame sets off on a journey, which takes her to MacCallen Castle where part of the Fomorian war took place (in the Divine trilogy). The castle was destroyed in this war against the Fomorians, a group of bloodthirsty creatures (kind of a mix between vampire and gargoyle). So Elphame and her group work at restoring the castle to it's former beauty. She befriends the centaur Brighid and a healer named Brenna. I enjoyed all three of these characters and their friendship.
Elphame's brother, Cuchulainn, has a premonition that she will find her life mate while on this mission. She meets Lochlan, a half human/half Fomorian, and falls for him. Can Partholon accept this race of New Fomorians after what the Fomorians did a century earlier? I really enjoyed Elphame and Lochlan's romance, and even more than that I enjoyed Cuchulainn and Brenna.
When I read this book, it was published by Luna and placed in the adult sci-fi/fantasy section in stores. Since then, with the success of The House of Night books, it has been re-published by Harlequin Teen and placed in YA... without any editing. It surprised me as there were a few rather spicy scenes, and it's definitely not for the younger teen crowd. If you enjoy fantasy, be sure to check this one out!
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