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Searching... Monmouth Public Library | YA Fic Dunkle, C. 2004 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The goblin King's face lit up with amusement. "Seylin was proposing marriage to you," he cried, "and you wanted him to change into a cat?" A thrilling and magical sequel to The Hollow Kingdom For years Emily has been living happily in the underground goblin kingdom. Now she is old enough to marry, but when her childhood friend Seylin proposes, she doesn't even pay attention. Devastated, Seylin leaves the kingdom to find his own people: the elves. Emily sets out in search of him. But they accidentally awaken hatreds and prejudices that have slumbered for hundreds of years, and soon two worlds are brought onto a dangerous collision course.Clare B. Dunkle once again draws readers deep into the magical realm that Newbery-winning author Lloyd Alexander calls "as persuasive as it is remarkable."
Author Notes
Clare B. Dunkle worked for years as a librarian. She wrote both The Hollow Kingdom and this book as a series of letters to her two teenaged daughters, who attend a German boarding school. A native of north Texas, she currently lives in Germany with her family.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Years have passed since the events of The Hollow Kingdom (Holt, 2003), and Kate is happily married to the Goblin King, Marak. As a human who has always thought of goblins as exciting and exotic creatures, her younger sister, Emily, enjoys spending her days with the many goblin children in her care. She has no thought of marriage until she unintentionally rejects the awkward proposal of her best friend, Seylin. Devastated, he decides to leave the kingdom to search for his elf ancestors. Once Emily realizes that she is the cause of his departure, and how much she cares for him, she sets out to find him, accompanied by the curmudgeonly goblin, Ruby. As in the previous book, the different characters discover that appearances do not necessarily reflect inner attributes, but this story delves deeper into examining the xenophobic attitudes held by the goblins, dwarfs, elves, and humans. The narrative draws readers into a multifaceted world of strong, compelling individuals. The final chapters come across more as a group of appendixes with a lot of explanatory information than as a true conclusion. Still, the background detail creates a compelling saga for fantasy fans. For maximum satisfaction, the books need to be read in order. The final book of the trilogy, In the Coils of the Snake, is due to be published in 2005.-Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Favorite story lines and characters continue this fall. Clare B. Dunkle spins a sequel to her The Hollow Kingdom, which PW called, in a starred review, "a luminously polished fantasy that starts off strong and just gets better." With Close Kin, Dunkle broadens the story of the sisters, with Kate happily married to the Goblin King, Marak, and Emily joyfully tending to the many goblin children. But when Emily's best friend, Seylin, proposes and she turns him down, he decides to leave the kingdom to search for his elf ancestors. Emily, realizing how much she cares for him, sets out to find him, as Dunkle thrusts readers deeper into the fascinating psyche of the goblins, dwarfs, elves and humans that populate her world. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In this sequel to The Hollow Kingdom, Emily, Kate's sister, seeks to win back her spurned lover, the elf Seylin. The engaging, richly imagined set-up and rising action end in an insipid account of the captured elf brides adjusting to their new home and husbands. An irrelevant episode concludes the book and sets up the next. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Racial integration through wife-napping makes for awkward fantasy, despite a compellingly intricate structure. Baby sister Emily of The Hollow Kingdom (2003), a human in the goblin world, has grown into a lovable young woman. Emily's adored by her goblin friend, elf-like throwback Seylin, but doesn't understand his awkward words of love. Spurned, Seylin leaves the goblin kingdom to avoid Emily and search for the long-lost elves. Alas, the remaining elves are ignorant, near-extinct, poverty-stricken misogynists, and only goblin magic can save them. While Seylin quests for elves, and Emily leaves goblin lands hunting for Seylin, the all-wise goblin king arranges the capture of the remaining elf women. Their perfectly chosen goblin husbands are far superior to the crude elves; kidnapping and involuntary marriage proves the elves' salvation. Disturbing gender roles, excessive moralizing, and a rushed and incongruous conclusion keep this sequel from achieving its rather strong potential. (Fiction. 11-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. In Dunkle's follow-up to The Hollow Kingdom 0 (2003), the elves face an awful reality: they have forgotten the ancient spells that once ensured their continuing survival of their races. When mixed-blood goblin Seylin joins the elves to explore his ethnic roots, he is shocked by their reduced circumstances. Parallel stories find human teen Em, now 18, replacing older sister Kate as heroine as she pursues Seylin to declare her love, and the Machiavellian King Marak strategizing to add more desirable elf blood to the goblins' genetic pool. The resulting multiple wedding manages to be both decidedly alien and strangely romantic at the same time--qualities that neatly encapsulate the allure of the first two books in the Hollow Kingdom trilogy. Despite a weirdly rambling conclusion, returning readers will appreciate the expanded view of a world where human, goblin, and elf sensibilities interestingly, if not harmoniously, coexist. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2004 Booklist