This is the second book in the series and won the Newberry Award. Most of my strongest memories of the series are buried in this book, in particular an out of time Twelfth Night sequence that represents a Christmas season I've always wished I had.

The Drew children aren't in this book. Instead, we are introduced to Will Stanton, an Old One who has come into his own on his 11th birthday. Will is wonderfully well-written, somehow managing to combine that funny intelligence of all 11 year olds with the wisdom of someone who is ageless. There is snow (lots of snow), a dark rider, a mysterious tramp, and seven signs to be found in a limited amount of time.

I love this book and especially love the beautiful pictures it put into my head. There is a wonderful and very real family here and a diverse and believable community. There is the Light and there is the Dark. There is adventure and choices and merrymaking and sorrow. This is what good books are all about. ( )

On his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discoveres that he is the last of the Old Ones, destined to seek the six magical Signs that will enable the Old Ones to triumph over the evil forces of the Dark. ( )

This book scared the living daylights out of me. You should know that I first read it in my early twenties. Cooper has a capacity to write apprehension into her scenes better than many fantasy writers. She makes you feel her scenes around you and literally draws you into her characters' fears of the dark. Her writing style is astutely simple and never cliched. Though perhaps the story itself is a bit disappointing, in that events seem to happen to the character without his having to do much or figure out much on his own, it is still a great read and a classic in its own right. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It is action packed, and fun. There's not much in the way of character development, just an exciting adventure.

However, to me, it seems like the book hasn't entirely aged well, particularly the language, as it feels somewhat old-fashioned. I am just not really sure a child reading it today would be as enthralled as I know many adult fans of this book were.

http://archthinking.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

On Will Stanton's eleventh birthday, he receives one hell of a present. While most boys his age are getting toys and the occasional book, Will receives the ancient magic of the Old Ones. Now, he must fight against the Dark, for it is rising and Will is the Light's last hope.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and exciting and the scenes with the Rider were just downright creepy. Cooper also did a fantastic job with the interactions between the siblings. Many of the scenes featuring the Stanton children had me cracking up and laughing out loud.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the lack of character development. On of my favorite parts of fantasy novels is the growth of the main character from a floundering nobody to a fierce warrior and in this book, that was missing. Just by being the seventh son of a seventh son and reading a magic book, he learns and understands all there is to know about his powers. Since the Old Ones work outside of Time, this literally took less than a second to accomplish. There was no struggle or journey of any kind. It just kind of happened.

To be fair, though, I still really liked the book and didn't find it too hard to overlook this flaw, which is a credit to Cooper's skill as a writer. If you're a fan of fantasy, I'd definitely recommend reading this book. ( )