Guinevere's Gift

Title : Guinevere's gift

Author : Nancy McKenzie

Citation : McKenzie, Nancy. Guinevere's gift. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.

Thirteen years have passed after a prophecy foretelling that Guinevere would one day be highest lady in the land and married to a great king. The fact now, Guinevere is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle, the king and queen of Gwynedd. Nobody takes the prophecy seriously, not even Gwen who is tomboy, awkward and no great beauty. Then, one day she meets a young man in the forest who claims to be part of ancient tribe whose mission is to guard and be her protector. She, then, stumbles across a sinister plot and fearlessly helps rescue her cousin from kidnappers who are plotting to overthrow the king. Gwen's true gift is to inspire love and admiration in people. Therefore, the author has succeeded in detailing everyday royal life with all of its conflicts. With subtle details of Arthurian legends are woven into the story, the author seems to allow each character to rise to surprising heroism. Her female characters are strong such as Gwen and Queen Alyse who are strong and fearful and take responsibilities while the mean are not around. This appealing factor makes this a good "girl power" story.

Melting Stones

Title : Melting stones

Author : Tamora Pierce

Citation : Pierce, Tamora. Melting stones. New York : Scholastic, 2008.

A call for help to Winding Circle temple has been sent by people on one of the islands south of Emelan. Their concern is their plants, trees and animals that live around are mysteriously dying. A prickly green mage Rosethorn and young stone mage trainee Evvy respond to the call and strive to find the problem that has something to do with a long-dormant volcano. With the help of Luvo, the living stone heart of a mountain, Evvy, then attempts to do whatever it takes to avoid the catastrophic destruction. Will they be able to evacuate the island in time or will they try to shift a volcano? From the author of the Trickster series, Pierce engage the intricate conversational and dialogue-rich writing style and the taste of suspenseful and fast-paced. The world-building storyline seems to be her uniqueness that makes this book hard to put down.