The Keepers' Tattoo

Gr 6-Up Nyssa is a cheerful young cook and tavern maid in a medieval-like world. But, as with many lowly orphans in fantasy novels, she has a secret identity. She has a mysterious tattoo on the back of her head, one half of an inscription in a language long forgotten, that of the Keepers, a civilization based on science and reason. Nyssa also has nightmares so concrete that she wonders if she is living inside another person's mind. When the terrifying Shadowmen arrive and seem to be pursuing her, she is aided in her escape by her uncle Marius and a dance hall girl named Aria. Central to the plot is Nyssa's discovery of her twin brother, who has been badly abused by Alaric the White Wolf, a cruel dictator bent on empire building. Once Nyssa and her friends rescue Kit, they are on the run again. Can they translate the tattoos that mark the siblings before the White Wolf's Shadowmen catch them? Will the secrets of the past give them power to save the world? Coincidence plays a big part throughout, including the climax, but the story has interior charms. Nyssa is an earnest and fiercely independent girl, her friendship with Aria is lively and nonjudgmental, and both girls grow into lives that satisfy their true natures. When readers meet Kit, he is a starved, battered, and speechless slave boy, the alter ego of Nyssa's nightmares. Slowly, in the company of his loving sister, he develops into a thoughtful and expressive young man. A pleasing adventure for fantasy fans.-"Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.