Basic Reason for Beginning: I saw it and read a very positive review and, seeing how much I enjoyed all of Cooper's work so far, I had to have it.
Basic Reason for Finishing: Because, for all the plot is simple, it is gorgeously told and so, so much richer than at first appears.
Texture: No texture, as such, but you know those dishes that look simple, but are the sign of highly skilled cooking? That kind of balance and delicacy.

Full review here

Book Rereadability: Oh, yes. I seem to have hit a streak of books that feel like they should be reread to be fully appreciated. Or that could be just how it feels.
Author Rereadability: This is my... seventh book by Cooper. I certainly hope it won't be my last!
Recommendation: This was classed as YA novel by the library I got it from, but I think it could easily be read by the maturer younger than YA-person. I also think it's an excellent book for adults, especially those who like to think and learn. ( )

This was one of my favorite books when I was a teenager, and it's one that has stayed in my head since I first read it, what feels like decades ago.

The story focuses on two teenagers, Cally and West. Both are running metaphorically and literally, respectively, from both the common stresses of teenage life and from larger, more uncommmon stresses. They end up in a strange land ruled by two ambiguous figures, who each angle to use the young people for their own ends. Together, the two must find their way to the sea and home--but nothing is ever quite that simple, not even the final choice to go home.

Cooper revisits many of the same themes from her Dark is Rising Sequence, but with greater refinement and sophistication. The novel is clearly aimed for a higher age-group as well, which allows for this more complex examination of life, death, good, bad, and love. Crisp prose, likable and empathetic characters, and a good dose of mysticism come together to make an extremely enjoyable and well-written book. ( )

I didn't like it as much as The Dark is Rising Sequence, but it is definitely worth a read for Cooper fans. ( )

A stand-alone fantasy, to me strongly reminiscent of the tales of George MacDonald (or of C. S. Lewis), but with a pagan Celtic rather than a Christian subtext. Cally and West, two teenagers from our world who have lost their parents, find themselves somewhere else, a world of woods and streams, deserts and mountains, where there seem to be rules and dangers about which they know nothing. They find that they must make a quest to the sea, but the ruler of the land, the Lady Taranis, seeks to thwart them. They are variously helped, as one might expect, and learn something of Life and Death. There are episodes which remain stubbornly inexplicable, and some incoherent aspects to the secondary world, but the book is definitely a page-turner. MB 23-i-08 ( )

An exhilarating novel! It's strongly reminiscent of Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" sequence, but with a slightly older audience in mind. It also brings to mind Madeline L'Engle's _A Wrinkle In Time_. Great stuff. ( )