The
Strings of the Violin
Hadariah Chronicles
Book One
Alisse Lee Goldenberg
Alisse Lee Goldenberg
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Prizm Books
Date of Publication: June
26, 2013
ISBN: 1610404947
Number of pages: 212
Word Count: 55,000
Cover Artist: Brandon Clay
Book
Description:
Seventeen-year-old
Carrie is lying in her backyard ignoring all the looming
responsibilities in her life, when a fox makes a mad dash across the
grass in front of her. After she manages to keep her dog from
attacking the frightened animal, the fox turns to Carrie and seems to
bow in gratitude before he disappears into the bushes. All Carrie
knows in that moment is that something has unexpectedly changed in
her life.
Carrie has been best
friends with Lindsay Smith and Rebecca Campbell for years. During a
summer when they should focus on choosing colleges, the girls
suddenly find themselves swept away on the adventure of their lives.
The fox reappears three
days later and reveals to Carrie that he is Adom, emissary to the
king of Hadariah. With his land of music and magic in peril, Adom has
been sent to seek help from Carrie and her friends. In the blink of
an eye, the three teenage girls go from living an average suburban
life to being the champions of a world where they must contend with
giants, witches, and magical beings. Will they ever make it home once
more?
What would you do if a fox not only came up to you, but started speaking to you as well? What if it asked you to save it's world, a world of magic and demons, princesses and kings?
When faced with this exact occurrence, Carrie Eisen says yes. She and her best friends travel to another world to find the magical violin strings that will save everyone. They will meet many magical beings, come across demons and princesses, and even some enchanted fruit trees!
I found this book to be a highly enjoyable read. I loved the characters and the story. I have always enjoyed a good fantasy novel, and this one really fed my child-like wonder of all things magical. I am very glad I picked it up and started reading it.
There were a few tense moments and many times I wasn't sure if certain characters were trustworthy. I eagerly read on to see what would happen and whether or not we would get a happily ever after type ending.
I won't ruin it for you! Just read on for an excerpt that will draw you into the story and make you want to finish reading it. I reccommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good fantasy. There was nothing in this book that I wouldn't let my ten year old daughter read. This book is wonderful for all ages!
My Review:
★★★★★
What would you do if a fox not only came up to you, but started speaking to you as well? What if it asked you to save it's world, a world of magic and demons, princesses and kings?
When faced with this exact occurrence, Carrie Eisen says yes. She and her best friends travel to another world to find the magical violin strings that will save everyone. They will meet many magical beings, come across demons and princesses, and even some enchanted fruit trees!
I found this book to be a highly enjoyable read. I loved the characters and the story. I have always enjoyed a good fantasy novel, and this one really fed my child-like wonder of all things magical. I am very glad I picked it up and started reading it.
There were a few tense moments and many times I wasn't sure if certain characters were trustworthy. I eagerly read on to see what would happen and whether or not we would get a happily ever after type ending.
I won't ruin it for you! Just read on for an excerpt that will draw you into the story and make you want to finish reading it. I reccommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good fantasy. There was nothing in this book that I wouldn't let my ten year old daughter read. This book is wonderful for all ages!
Short
Excerpt:
Carrie
Eisen lay in the grass, knees bent, a sweatshirt pillowed under her
head. The sun felt warm on her body as she drifted off to sleep. She
had gone outside intending to read the new fantasy novel she had
bought. She had read a few chapters and put it aside, just soaking up
the sun. In the backyard, her cocker spaniel, Finnigan, was hunting
flies. So far, he had caught none. But he refused to give up, leaping
about in the grass and futilely pouncing on the buzzing insects.
There
was one month left in summer vacation, and come September, Carrie
would start the twelfth grade. This was something she did not want to
think about until it was absolutely necessary. To her, her final year
of high school meant she would ultimately have to make decisions
about her future, decide a path, and begin to grow up -- something
she dreaded with all her heart and soul. She wished she could just
run away and have an adventure like the characters in the books she
loved.
Already
her parents were on her case, encouraging her to research
universities and pick out programs she liked. She was finding the
entire thing overwhelming. At the age of seventeen, how was she
supposed to decide these things? It was hard enough some days to
figure out what she wanted to eat for breakfast. But they were
pressuring her to start now. She would have to do her applications
this year. Her mind swam with choices and questions. What if she was
rejected from the programs she wanted? What if a school looked good
on paper but was horrible when she actually got there? She knew she
could always change her mind, but it might mean a wasted year. And
what were her friends doing? She knew they were as confused as she
was, and Carrie was thankful she was not alone. She dreaded going to
a large university and knowing no one. She had this vision in her
head of being a lost first-year student dwarfed by a cold and massive
campus. She did not want this but feared it was inevitable.
Carrie
was a tiny girl in all respects, except her eyes. She had huge
green-blue eyes that seemed to take up a full third of her
heart-shaped face. They peered out from behind a sandy fringe of
bangs, always drinking in every aspect of her surroundings. She wore
her hair in a shaggy pixie cut that she never let get any longer than
chin length, but it was constantly out of control.
She
had been lying in her backyard for over an hour. The idea of just
being lazy and ignoring all responsibility had appealed to her, and
she had indulged this whim with a vengeance. Barefoot, in a pair of
raggedy cutoff jean shorts and an old T-shirt, Carrie had run outside
and flung herself out onto the grass, prepared not to move until she
absolutely had to. Finnigan had followed, leaping at her ankles,
begging to play, but Carrie had turned away, resolving not to use a
single ounce of energy on anything other than soaking up the sun on
that hot summer’s day.
Now,
after some time had passed, Carrie lay contented, her mind
deliciously blank. She heard, as if through a fog, the barking of her
dog and the buzzing of the flies. She could hear the happy panting as
Finnigan occasionally walked up to her and left a present of an
unfortunate insect. Silently, a new sensation crept over her body.
Her blue eyes flew open, and she glanced around. Despite the sun’s
warmth, Carrie felt goose bumps prickling up and down her skin. She
felt a distinct feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching her.
She sat up and quickly spotted Finnigan. She opened her mouth to call
to her dog but could not find the voice to do it. The words caught in
her throat. Finnigan was standing and staring at a small bush that
grew in a corner of the yard. He was growling, a low rumble that
Carrie could feel vibrating in the air around her. The guttural sound
caused the hairs to stand up along the nape of her neck.
“Finn?”
Carrie managed to get out. She could not believe how hoarse her voice
sounded. Her pet’s behavior was giving her the creeps. “Finn,
what is it?”
Upon
hearing his name, Finnigan turned to Carrie and cocked his head to
the side, as if asking if she saw what he did in the bush. When he
got no answer, he turned back and continued to stare fixedly.
Carrie
squinted at the leaves, wondering what it was that had so enthralled
him and so spooked her. She peered intently and let out a small gasp
when she spotted two coal-black eyes staring right back at her.
Carrie
scrambled to her feet, never taking her eyes off the bush. A black,
button nose appeared below the eyes. A long red snout. Two large
ears, a face, a small body. Carrie made a grab for Finnigan as the
fox sauntered out from within the branches.
“Oh
no,” Carrie breathed. She knew not to make any sudden movements
around a wild animal. Unfortunately, Finnigan did not seem aware of
this bit of advice, and he lunged at the fox. He snarled, gnashing
his teeth at this creature who dared to invade his yard.
Carrie
let out a cry of alarm as her dog escaped her. “Finnigan!” she
yelled and propelled herself forward as dog and fox made a mad dash
across the lawn. Carrie ran, her bare feet skidding across the
ground, arms reaching, desperate to get a hold of her pet. Finnigan
leapt ahead, just out of reach.
The
fox ran at the head of the chaseeither bolder than Carrie had first
thought or spurred on by fear. Finnigan was merely a few steps behind
him. Carrie made a leap for the spaniel and just missed him, falling
face-first on the grass, staining her shirt and chin green. She
quickly picked herself back up and tried to cut the animals off from
a different angle, but again she was unsuccessful. Her mind filled
with frightening ideas about what would happen if the fox turned on
her dog. What if it was rabid? What if it bit Finnigan? A whole list
of horrible scenarios filled her mind. She was panicking, not just
for her dog but for the fox as well. She did not know what would
happen if Finnigan got a hold of the animal. There was always a
chance that he was not chasing it to play, but to hunt and hurt.
Carrie
tried again to make a grab for Finnigan. This time she managed to get
a hold of him, eliciting a yelp of surprise. He tried to bolt out of
her arms, upset at the indignity of being kept from his prey. She
held on for dear life as he squirmed and struggled to get back to the
chase. She held tighter, and he finally gave up, panting against her
chest.
Carrie
stood and surveyed the yard, trying to see where the fox had gone.
She finally spotted him sitting calmly by the same bush from which he
had first emerged. He peered back at her with intelligent,
thoughtful, almost curious black eyes, his red fur stark against the
green of the bush. Carrie could not understand how he could have
hidden so successfully inside it. The fox looked directly at her,
bowed his head low in what seemed a gesture of gratitude, and
disappeared the same way he had come.
Carrie
sat down on the grass and stared long and hard at the bush. Had that
fox somehow thanked her? What had just happened? All she knew was
that something had changed. The air around her was uncommonly still.
She stood up on legs that seemed to be made of jelly, hugged Finnigan
to her, and was rewarded with a lick. Then she turned and entered the
house, her day of laziness forgotten.
About
the Author:
Alisse
Lee Goldenberg is an author of Horror and Young Adult fantasy
fiction. She has her Bachelors of Education and a Fine Arts degree,
and has studied fantasy and folk lore since she was a child. Alisse
lives in Toronto with her husband Brian, their triplets Joseph,
Phillip, and Hailey, and their rambunctious Goldendoodle Sebastian.
@AliLGoldenberg
Giveaway:
4 beaded bookmarks made by Custom Creations by Clarabelle Bewitching Book Swag- open to international shipping
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free in order to review it. Regardless, all opinions in this review are my own and were in no way influenced.
This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment.
This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment. It is very important to me. Know that while I might not reply directly to your comment every time, I certainly read it and appreciate it.