Silverwing (1997)

This is a cute and appealing story about a brave young bat. Shade is a runt - bullied by his peers and very lucky to have survived his early days. However, he has a stubborn determination and courage that refuses to relent. He also is a little too curious for his own good. When, in an attempt to impress his fellow newborns, he impulsively decides to see the sun, it brings destruction and much danger down upon his community. The bats have been engaged in a centuries long way between the birds and the beasts, a war in which they refused to take sides and were banished from the day. Now, even the night has become deadly to them. When he is separated from his flock, Shade makes some unlikely allegiances - first with the brightwing, Marina and then with the fearsome tropical bats, Goth and Throbb. Danger, betrayal and the bitter bite of winter threaten him at every turn.

Oppel has captured the world of the bats in exquisite detail and great thought. His tale is limited (mostly, there is one mention of "yellow") to their monochromatic world where sound is important a sense as sight and being part of the colony is of great importance. He shows a strong understanding of animal behavior, and whilst his bats (and other animals) do behave in somewhat a humanized manner (the owls have fire, for example), it was never enough to bug me. He has created a charming fantasy world and I look forward to exploring it further. ( )

The main character in this thrilling fantasy book is Shade, a young silverwing bat who longs to be brave and show his colony what he can do.

After being seperated from his colony, Shade befriends a brightwing bat named Marina, and the two set out on the biggest journey of their lives, to find Shade's colony. On the way the two friends encounter a series of events and challenges, and Shade finds out that his father Cassiel, who went missing before Shade was born, might actually be closer than he thinks.

I would recomend this exciting book to all thrill-seekers aged 10-adult. ( )

okay but i don't understand all the prizes and awards. narrator not so hot

11 prizes ( )

One of my favourite books. A truly unique and well-written story. ( )

I received this book as a gift from a student. It is the first teen book that I read. I fell in LOVE with teen books thanks to this great read. To top it off, it is a Canadian author! Thank-you, Rayanna! ( )