And All Between

Opening in Erda, the underground civilization and home of the Erdlings, whose ancestors had been banished from the arboreal Kindar world high above, this second book in Zilpha Keatley Snyder's Green Sky Trilogy covers some of the same ground as its predecessor, Below the Root, but is told (at least at first) from the perspective of Teera, the little Erdling girl found on the forest floor by Raamo and D'ol Neric in the earlier book. Running away from home when her pet lapan, Haba, is threatened—it is a time of great food scarcity amongst the Erdlings, and pets are to be sacrificed to the people's hunger—Teera finds herself on an extraordinary journey, escaping through the magical root that imprisons her people, and eventually taken show more in by a Kindar family. As she learns about life in the treetops of Green-sky, and becomes close friends with Pomma, the daughter of the family with whom she now resides, Raamo, D'ol Neric, Genaa and D'ol Falla must decide what to do about the central dilemma uncovered in the previous book. Namely, the truth that the monstrous Pash-shan feared by the Kindar were none other than their brethren—the banished Kindar who had come to be Erdlings—and the question of how to reveal that truth to Kindar society. As Genaa and D'ol Neric set out on a mission to Erda, Raamo and D'ol Falla confront an even more terrible truth: some amongst the priestly Ol-zhaan are willing to use violence, even against children, to protect their secrets...

Judging from most of the reviews online, many readers find And All Between a somewhat unsatisfactory sequel to Below the Root, chiefly because its first half is devoted to a recap of what occurred in that earlier book. While I can certainly see why some would think this title suffered from "Middle Book Syndrome," and while I didn't love it quite as much as the first book, for my part I nevertheless found it an immensely enjoyable continuation of the story. It's true that there is less narrative excitement and suspense in the first half, as we already know what is going to happen. That being said, the exploration of life in Erda was fascinating, just as the exploration of life amongst the Kindar in the first book was so engrossing. The more emotional nature of the Erdlings, the way in which they governed themselves, the way their families were structured—all of it was very interesting to me, both the first time I read this book, some years ago, and now, upon this reread. The second half of the book was more gripping, as it advanced the overall story, and I found myself on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion. The conclusion, in which the much revered uniforce reappears in the world of Green-sky as a result of the bond between Teera and Pomma, as the result of an Erdling and Kindar child working together, points the way to developments in the third and final book. All in all, although I do agree that there are some structural issues with the Green Sky Trilogy overall (something I will discuss in my review of the third book), I think this is a worthy follow-up and second title. I enjoyed reading it, and (much as with it predecessor) found the accompanying artwork from illustrator Alton Raible (who worked on the entire trilogy) just lovely. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first book. show less

(For the whole trilogy): A utopian future on a planet with lowered gravity, psychic abilities, and naturally abundant food – what could be better? I read these books repeatedly as a kid, and still love them today. Of course, the utopia cracks under the pressure of the secrets it is keeping, and courageous children must save the day. The trilogy is a surprisingly sophisticated analysis of utopian ideals, for books aimed at children. The cultures that evolved on this planet are well-reasoned extensions of their histories, and the overall story is believable, given the premise. Plus, people get to fly and sleep in nests.

This is the sequel to Below the Root, although it does not begin where that left off. Instead, Teera's story is told from her perspective and that of the other Erdlings. The endpoint of the former book comes about halfway through this one, when the thread of narrative is picked back up from the perspectives of other characters. The players are gearing up to reveal the secret of the Erdlings and attempt to integrate them into Kinda society, but there are still those, such as D'ol Regle who will stop at nothing to prevent this.
With such fascinating world-building, well-developed characters, and a very suspenseful plot, Snyder once again proves she was doing Young Adult Fantasy before the genre was invented, and doing it very, very well.

One of my favorite books as a kid. I was amazed that it wasn't an actual sequel, but takes place at the same time as the first book. It's told from another girl's perspective. It was great. Good books to remember for years to come.

(I'll always picture myself laying under tree roots, getting a splotchy suntan!)

I found the first 60% of this book to be a review of material from [b:Below The Root|127122|Below the Root|Zilpha Keatley Snyder|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171928608s/127122.jpg|6329]. Admittedly, it was from a different perspective, but it was too much for me.

This book stands alone if necessary, although it tells the same story as "Below the Root," but from the viewpoint of Teera - a small girl who lives in Erda, a society of caves that is , yes, below the root.