Loved since I was in school ( )

Welcome to Isle, a land of fantasy that existed long before there were such things. Surrounded by vast oceans and dotted with thick forests, Isle was a land in which all beings lived together. There were gods and ghosts dwelling with the Old Ones, the wise ancient ancestors. During this period, the Book of Suns began its life, though little was known about its contents. The mighty marriage between Sun and Moon begins an adventure never seen before.

Read during Summer 2003

The first 20 or so pages filled me with dread that this was one of those sterotypical bad fantasy stories but it picked up speed and got a bit better. My major complaint was that it read like a book in the middle of a series, never explaining anything. Only about two-thirds of the way through did I guess that it might be about pre-historic Ireland and not some made up country known as Isle. The map in front, despite the smattering of 'here be dragons', looks a bit like Ireland and the names all seemed to suffer from Celtic unprounceability; Ellid, Cuin, Celonwy. Enjoyable but I'm planning to cross it today.

Read this book when I was oh so young - loved it and all of the books in this series by Nancy Springer - some of my all time favorite books. I think my taste has matured a bit but I will always love these stories. ( )

F/SF