The Crow

Today’s post is on “The Crow” by Alison Croggon and it is the third book of Pellinor. It is 511 pages long including maps, notes, and appendices. It is published by Candlewick Press. The cover has the three main characters on it with Hem, who has a white crow on his shoulder, facing the distance to the side of the reader, Zelika looking at Hem, and Saliman looking the Iron Tower. The cover is very telling about the plot of the story. The intended reader is all young adults, not just girls, but anyone who loves high fantasy in the Tolkien style will just eat this up and I should know. There is nothing in this book that should make parents nervous. It is told from third person close following Hem. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Hem is a rough and weary orphan whose brutal struggle for survival ends when he’s reunited with his lost sister. Maerad, though, has her own destiny to fulfill, and the two must soon part. Hem is sent to the golden city of Turbansk in the south, where he learns the ways of the Bards and discovers a hidden gift when he rescues a white crow. But when the forces of the Dark threaten, and a young orphan girl named, Zelika to join the Light’s resistance forces. He, too, has a crucial role to play in Maerad’s quest to solve the Riddle of the Treesong.
In the Third Book of Pellinor, which continues the epic tale begun with The Naming and The Riddle, Alison Croggon creates a world of astounding beauty overshadowed by a terrifying darkness as Hem- and, distantly, Maerad- prepare for a final battle in defense of the Light.

Review- I liked this book so much more than The Riddle. The Riddle continues Maerad’s story from the end of The Naming and this one picks up about two months after the beginning of The Riddle. Hem is learning about how to be a Bard and in the beginning of the story he is a whiny 12 year-old but by the end he is a young man with responsibilities both to himself and to his destiny. Unlike in Maerad in The Riddle the darkness in The Crow is not just as bad. I do not know why. There is little hope, bad things are happening all around them, and one of the main characters dies but there is something about it that is not as bad as The Riddle. The Riddle was not easy for me to read because of all the bad things that happen to Maerad and it was horrible to experience. I just do not know what about The Crow is not has unbearable to read and experience with Hem. Hem grows so much over the course of this book, he really does change into a better person because of all the bad things and maybe that is it. All the suffering that Maerad goes through does not grow her as a person, it is just suffering not growth. But Hem is now a character with power in this story and I look forward to seeing where he is going from here and I cannot wait to see him interact with Maerad again. I do have a problem with the cover because Zelika looks white and she is not, she should look Arabian because that is how she is described in the text but other than that the cover is very good. Croggon renewed my faith in her series with The Crow.

I give this one Four out of Five stars. I get nothing from for my review and I bought this book with my own money.