Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | YA Fic Marriott, Z. 2009 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Dallas Public Library | YA FICTION - MARRIOTT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Silver Falls Library | YA MARRIOTT | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In a world of clashing cultures, a girl fights for freedom -- and finds a surpring romantic ally -- after learning a startling truth about her identity.
Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fi fteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people's fate -- and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.
Author Notes
Zoë Marriott made her debut with THE SWAN KINGDON. In DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES, her second novel, she has created an equally strong heroine who fi ghts like a warrior and loves with all her heart. Zoë Marriott lives in England.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-This tale of the last surviving heir to the Ruan throne fails to deliver an emotional punch amid all the flying kicks. Just before she turns 16, orphaned Zira narrowly escapes death when the temple in which she lives is razed by a tyrannical Sedorne usurper. By literally passing through the fire, she discovers her true identity as Zahira, a princess who everyone believed was dead. She immediately takes responsibility for leading the temple survivors to safety and forging a political and potentially romantic alliance with a sympathetic Sedorne Lord. Though the novel has some feisty fight scenes and a number of reliable fantasy themes-love between enemy rulers, evil kings who desire redemption, and rebel forces who arrive at the last moment-the characters' emotions aren't convincing. The most vividly realized details are found in the menus: pistachio pastries, sesame seed bread rings, sour black cherry jam. They suggest a Middle Eastern setting, but the fashion, weapons, rules, and religions are generic medieval European. The story poses some interesting leadership dilemmas and there's plenty of plot, but the narrator has a bad habit of telling readers what she's feeling rather than making them feel it.-Emily R. Brown, Providence Public Library, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
As Zira trains to become a warrior priestess, the only clue to her past is her badly scarred face. Then an attack on her home reawakens her memories, revealing that she is heir to a dispossessed kingdom and niece to its evil king. Zira is a strong heroine who deals with compelling problems, but the villain's motivation is utterly mystifying. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A tantalizing prologue settles into satisfactory adventure, dampened by excessive description. Marriott opens with a gripping middle-of-the-night crisis as burned refugees pour into an abbey-like temple. One refugee hides a child beneath her cloakthe only member of the king's family not killed when invaders set the royal castle ablaze. That child, first-person narrator Zira, grows up in the temple training as a warrior, but readers know her lofty fortune all along: Born as royalty (unbeknownst to her), she's destined to become queen. Zira befriends and marries a sympathetic lord who's Sedornethe conquering raceas the text focuses heavily but somewhat ambiguously on both personal responsibility and fate. The characters' normative skin color is brown, the heroine interracial, God female; however, traditional power dynamics are less subverted than this setup implies, offering fertile ground for discussion. Unnecessary adverbs (people "scurried...hastily"), cluttered details and sometimes florid prose ("colors so pure that the eye could hardly perceive them") take the edge off this otherwise solid fantasy confirming birthrights and inevitability. (Fantasy. YA) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Marriott's first novel (The Swan Kingdom, 2008) was inspired by a fairy tale; this second fantasy creates its own world with a complex history of civil war, racial struggles, and religious beliefs. Fifteen-year-old Zira, raised by the Ruan people, bears facial scars and buried memories of her true heritage she is the hidden heir to the kingdom of Sedorne, ruled by her despotic uncle Abheron. Being half Ruan herself, she represents the possibility of a union between the indigenous Ruan and the occupying Sedorne. When Abheron sends his troops to destroy her home, Zira learns the truth about her identity and sees a glimmer of hope to overthrow Abheron through marriage with a Sedorne lord. Readers of Tamora Pierce will happily immerse themselves in a character not unlike Alanna: a headstrong, feisty teen who glories in physical combat and longs for (and finds) a true soul mate. Marriott's writing is smooth and compelling; lush descriptions are balanced with plenty of fast-paced battles. A satisfying read for fantasy lovers, with rich backstory, lavish costumes, and a happy ending.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2009 Booklist