Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date: October 18, 2016
Source: Publisher for an honest review
Description:
Chosen to embrace her true identity. Chosen to follow her destiny. Chosen to change her world.
Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan, but she has been forced to turn from her duties, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save herself and her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating Tribe, strays across her path that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…
Now evil is coming, and with it, a force more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By breaking Clan Law and forming an alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and battle the forces that threaten to destroy them all.
My Take:
The world of Moon Chosen is new and very different. At first, it was a bit confusing, but I think that had more to do with the formatting of the digital galley. However, it didn't take long for the characters and the world to catch my imagination and pull me into the story.
Mari and her mother, Leda, are unique and important women. Leda is the Moon Woman of her clan - she is a healer with a special relationship with the moon. Her daughter is unique because she is part Earth Walker, like her mother, and part Tribe - a different people who live in the trees and have special companions - canines who bond for life. She is unaware of just how special she is and what her uniqueness will mean.
There are so many aspects to the novel that intrigue me -- the way groups of people gravitated to different ways of living, their bonds with animals, and maybe most of all --- curiosity about what happened to make the people flee the city and take to the wilderness in the first place.
Of course, there are still people living in the city - but they are failing as a group, filled with a deep anger and have a terrible illness that causes them to steal the skin of others. It is very disturbing and this group suddenly starts growing in power and initiative due to the recent upheaval in their power structure. This bodes ill for the other people within the vicinity of the city.
The story line is compelling and interesting -- and the relationships between the characters is humorous, sad, and very fun to read about as they grow to understand themselves and each other. I am sure that this will be a very popular new series by P.C. Cast. I look forward to reading more about this very unique and compelling world. I am also very interested in Mari, Nik, and Sora's futures. Moon Chosen is definitely a book that I would recommend to young adult readers and anyone who enjoys fast-paced fantasy with great world-building.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
P.C. CAST is the #1 New
York Times and USA Today
Best-Selling author of the House of Night Series and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
With more than 20 million copies in print in over 40 countries, her novels have
been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for
Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt
Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath.
Ms. Cast was born in the Midwest, and grew up being
shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell
in love with Quarter Horses and mythology. After high school she joined the United States
Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF,
she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. Ms.
Cast lives in Oregon surrounded by beloved cats, dogs, horses, and family.
