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Legends say that the island of Joya was once a place where songbirds sang in every tree and the islanders were free to come and go as they pleased. That was before the harsh-ruling Governor arrived, and ravens drove out the native birds. Now there are no songbirds, and the people are forbidden to travel beyond the forest that separates them from the rest of the island.
But for Isabella, the legends of her island home have always seemed like more than just stories. And when a series of mysterious events shakes the community, it's Isabella—daughter to the island's only mapmaker—who will lead a party of explorers into the forest in search of answers. As the group ventures deeper and deeper into the island, dark secrets begin to surface, and the legends Isabella has listened to all these years show signs of coming to life.
Debut novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave draws on the cultural folklore of the Canary Islands in this richly told story of a girl's quest to map her own place in a world that legends alone have shaped.
Advance Praise:
"[R]eminiscent of fantasy greats such as Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman." —The London Times
From the Hardcover edition.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 2, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780553535303
- File size: 3893 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780553535303
- File size: 3893 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.7
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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October 3, 2016
Published in the U.K. as The Girl of Ink & Stars, Hargrave’s first novel takes place on the island of Joya in the year 1524, on an Earth not precisely like this one. (Plugging in the included latitude and longitude coordinates for Joya suggest that it is La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands.) Twelve-year-old Isabella Riosse lives on Joya with her mapmaker father; her mother and twin brother died years earlier from a “sweating sickness.” After a girl turns up murdered on the island, Isabella’s privileged friend Lupe—daughter of Joya’s strict governor—disappears while attempting to investigate. Disguised as a boy, Isabella joins the search party and ventures into the Forgotten Territories at the island’s center, learning more than she imagined about its history and legends. Hargrave laces enticing elements of magic and myth throughout an adventure punctuated with frightening encounters and painful losses. But while Isabella is both capable and devoted, her first-person narrative doesn’t always give a full sense of her emotions, or of Joya’s somewhat murkily described history and geography. Ages 10–up. Agency: Janklow & Nesbit. -
July 1, 2017
In 1524 in a slightly altered world, twelve-year-old Isabella lives on the island of Joya with her mapmaker father. Under the cruel leadership of the mysterious Governor, no one is allowed to travel beyond the forest that surrounds their village. Then tragedy strikes, and Isabella leads an expedition to find answers. Despite graceful, evocative prose, the plot never quite comes together in a satisfying way.(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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