This book is a story about a young girl named Clovermead. It is the second book of a series and I recommend reading the first book, otherwise certain things are a bit confusing. Clovermead has many struggles throughout the book. She has to decide what is most important to her, what is most important to her lands, and what is most important for the world. Her decisions can change everything, as can her powers. Because not only does she have the power to help her nation, she has the power to transform into bear shape, and she alone can free the bear-slaves of the evil dictator, Lord Ursus. She must also face her inner feelings, as she struggles with her friendship with Sorrel, her longtime friend, and what is right and wrong.
I chose this book looking for a good fantasy read, and although I did get that, I felt that it reminded me of other currently popular fantasy books. In this tale, you find a strong, courageous girl who finds love in a sea of turmoil. Amidst war, political expeditions, self-indecision, and family loyalty she manages to conquer evil. But to conquer evil she has to discover her own power and look to friends for help. Many stories contain several of these plot aspects, and the addition of the usual mysterious yet beautiful animals, makes this book seem familiar. But, thankfully this book has a couple of twists, giving it a little bit of excitement. I enjoyed reading this book even though it felt somewhat familiar and although I would have liked to see a bit more of Sorrel himself (the book is named after him after all), I liked what I did see. There is a plentiful helping of character development and many of the settings put pictures in my mind. This book is not my favorite, but it is certainly worth reading.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: South Pasadena, CA U.S.A
