This book was amazing...I couldn't put it down til I finished it and now it makes me want to get the Secret Sacrement which I know its kind of reverse but without reading it was still a great book. ( )

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Avala is a member of the dwindling race of the Shivali. Avala is special -- her mother, Ashila, is the tribe's healer and her father, Gabriel, was Navoran, a member of an enemy tribe who became a great ally in times of trouble. The Navoran still conquer lands, and the Shinali have become nomads, but there are still a few Navoran who honor Avala's father, and are willing to deal gently with Shinali. The true reason that Avala is held in high regard is due to a prophecy that points to her as the chosen one, the one who will finish what her father began and will bring about the Time of the Eagle.

Avala is unsure that she is capable of fulfilling such a high calling. What is she to do? And how? What if she fails? Part of her hopes that the prophecy was wrong, and meant for someone else. She doesn't want to lead an army, much less know how to do so. She wants to be a healer alongside her mother. But, she must venture out to find the future that awaits her and her people.

The path is unknown even to Avala. She will have to find her own way through the lands and peoples she encounters. Most importantly, she'll have to trust in herself, even in her most lost and confused moments. The fate of the Shinali depends upon her.

This is an amazing book! Completely engrossing, you are lost in Avala's world long after the story ends. Avala is very strong, but still frightened and unsure at times. The lands she travels to are both foreign and familiar. And the things she sees and learns!

This is an epic book in the sense that it covers a large expanse of time, and it does so incredibly well. You really feel and live and experience so much right along with her. It's also very interesting to me that this could be a time in the future, or one in the past.

There seems to be a wealth of story both before and after the time frame that this book covers. I truly hope I get to know more of this place and these people! ( )

The book is about the fulfilling of a prophecy for a nation of people who have had their land stolen, have been stricken with war, and must become nomads to escape the emperor who wants their race dead. A young girl, Avala, bares the weight of having to fulfill the prophecy, the book is from her perspective. The author is one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the way in which Avala grows from an unsure girl to an amazing healer and confident young woman. The scenes that speak of their final freedom and the uniting of the other nations with Avala's, actually brought goose bumps to my arms. ( )