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Book Review By Nel
The Wreath by Chris Howard and Chloe Howard

The Wreath is a story of betrayal and the struggle for control over the forces of magic and scientific knowledge. Kassandra comes from the sea, but she spends most of her life far from it, an exile sent inland to grow up, and become a slave. Her father disappeared before she was born, and before dying, her mother passed on a hereditary source of magic, the Wreath of Poseidon, a gift so powerful that Kassandra's own family has turned on her.

She's caught between a murdering king, a governess who's been trying to kill her since she was four, and river witches who spy on her through the plumbing. She's managed to stay alive so far, but on her thirteenth birthday, she hears voices in her head of long-dead royalty, discovers that she has power over the oceans, and that she can travel along something like a hydro-molecular network, between any two points, wherever there is water.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Family relations Yes
Descript. of chases or violence - 30 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 %

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
If magical mental powers: - can cast many different spells

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status:
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Terrain
Earth setting: - current (early 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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