{"id":39423,"date":"2021-05-15T21:53:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T01:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39423"},"modified":"2021-05-15T21:53:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-16T01:53:34","slug":"review-of-winterkeep-by-kristin-cashore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39423","title":{"rendered":"Review of Winterkeep, by Kristin Cashore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Winterkeep<\/em><\/p>\n

by Kristin Cashore<\/p>\n

Dial Books, 2021. 518 pages.
\nReview written May 11, 2021, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Winterkeep<\/em> is a fourth book in the series that began with Graceling<\/a><\/em>. Like the rest, it deals with enough new characters and situations that you could enjoy it perfectly well without having read the earlier books. Though I always have to add that you should read them, they\u2019re wonderful! In fact, I checked my reviews, and it\u2019s been nine years since I read Bitterblue<\/a><\/em>, so I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s time to reread them all, and no wonder the details were vague as I read this book. The author caught me up with anything I needed to know.<\/p>\n

Bitterblue has now been queen of Monsea for five years, but they have recently learned about Winterkeep, a country across the sea. Bitterblue\u2019s emissaries who last visited Winterkeep never returned, and she\u2019s afraid they\u2019re dead and wants to find out what happened to them. She has also learned that several merchants were cheating her by buying cheap zilfium from her mines \u2013 it turns out to be a valuable source of fuel in that other country.<\/p>\n

Bitterblue wants to find out more, so she plans a voyage to Winterkeep, along with Giddon, her friend and a member of the council, and Hava, her half-sister, who is graced with the ability to make people see her how she wants them to see her. But the voyage does not go as planned.<\/p>\n

I wondered that we had characters who are adult in a young adult novel, but then the reader learns about Lovisa Cavenda, a student in Winterkeep. Her parents are powerful in Winterkeep politics, even though they are part of opposing parties. They plan to host the visiting delegation, but it begins to become clear to Lovisa that they are up to something.<\/p>\n

Winterkeep doesn\u2019t have gracelings or monsters like the lands we\u2019ve heard about before, but it does have telepathic foxes, who bond to one human \u2013 or so people think. There are also silbercows \u2013 seal-like creatures living out in the sea that communicate with selected humans with mental images. And the silbercows know about a giant creature with tentacles \u2013 they call her the Keeper \u2013 who lives in the depths of the sea.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of mysteries and plots winding you through this intriguing and magical world. We learn about nefarious things happening, but not until the end do we find out why. And then our characters must work to thwart those responsible.<\/p>\n

Something I love about Kristen Cashore\u2019s books is that she does put her characters through trauma \u2013 but she\u2019s realistic about what that costs them and about their struggles to heal from trauma. Even defeating a villain can be costly to a person\u2019s mental health, especially if the villain is your own father, and her books show this more than once.<\/p>\n

All of her books pull me in and absorb me and make me want to stay immersed in them until I finish \u2013 which is a big problem since they are so long. Be forewarned! This is a magical world that will feel real and will make you care about the fate of its characters.<\/p>\n

kristincashore.blogspot.com<\/a>
\npenguinteen.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/winterkeep.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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