REVIEWS+

Crossing Over

by Anna Kendall
375p. 978-0-67001-246-6.
COPY ISBN
Gr 9 Up—Roger Kilbourne can travel to the Land of the Dead. His brutish uncle Hartah forces him to use this mystical talent to prey on the newly bereaved. All Roger wants is to be free of the wicked man, but once this happens he finds himself embroiled in the court intrigue of two rival queendoms. He's befriended by Maggie, a kind, sensible kitchen maid, but he's smitten by the charms of irksome and vapid Lady Cecelia. Amid matricide, savage invaders, brutal battles, and armies of the dead, he is determined to rescue Cecelia while Maggie follows her heart. This is an action-packed adventure, and although there's royalty and romance, it is far from a sweet fairy tale. Due to brutal scenes and an important plot element that concerns the spread of STDs, it is one to recommend to mature teens.—Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA
Roger first "crossed over" into the land of the dead when he was six years old. Now fourteen and suffering from brutal poverty and abuse, he is repeatedly exploited into using his "gift." Kendall's setting--a sort of matriarchal alternate Middle Ages, alongside a melancholic land of the dead--is vividly described and well realized.
Reviewed by Patricia N. McClune , Apr 01, 2011

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