Darklight: The Hero Archetype

Darklight by Lesley Livingston is the sequel to the book Wondrous Strange. In Darklight, Kelley is forced to make an alliance with Mabh, her mother and the fairy queen of the autumn court, when an angry leprechaun comes seeking revenge.

In Wondrous Strange, Kelley left her ordinary world, discovered a new identity, and sacrificed half of her royal faerie inheritance in order to save the man she loved. In Darklight Kelley continues to play the part of the hero. She still acts like a seventeen-year-old girl, but she spends her free time rushing off to save her faerie friends from danger.

"Her clover charm clenched tight in one hand, Kelley called up a fistful of magick in the other and turned back to face the next attack . . . she whipped a ball of crackling purple sparks at the exposed flank of a glaistig. Then she parried a running strike from Jenii Greenteeth, spinning back around in time to see Sonny dispatch another of the horrific Green Maidens with deadly grace and efficiency." (Lesley Livingston Darklight 280, 281)

Wondrous Strange: Character Archetype

Kelley Winslow is the hero of the novel Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston. Like the typical hero, she undertakes a journey through the course of the novel, and discovers a new identity. At first she thinks that she is a normal, 17-year-old girl living in New York city, until she learns that she is the daughter of King Auberon, and queen Mabh, and the princess of both the autumn and the winter faerie courts.

In a way, Kelley is also unlike the typical hero, firstly because she is a girl, and secondly because near the end of the book, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands instead of doing what everyone expects her to do.

"Kelley's eyes snapped open, and she gasped at the revelation. The Faerie king could take away his power from her blood . . . but Kelley was willing to bet that he couldn't take away Mabh's. . . fight fire with fire. That was what they had been trying to tell her . . . Kelley closed her eyes again and searched even deeper inside of herself . . . She touched something with her mind: twisting, serpentine energy . . . The power of Mabh's shadowy throne wrapped around her, suffocating, overwhelming . . . Until suddenly, like a key turning in a lock, something clicked and Kelley was flooded with strength and fury. Mabh's power coursed through her veins like acid. She was deathly cold and on fire at the same time." (Lesley Livingston Wondrous Strange 309, 310)

Sister Wife: Connection

"There is such a routine here, such a structured lifestyle, that I suppose a person doesn't need to think much at all. Conformity is what they strive for, not individuality. Everything is laid out... even your husband or wife is chosen for you." (Shelley Hrdlitschka, Sister Wife pg. 11)

Both this quote and this novel, remind me of a section of another book that I'm reading for geography. In the book Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots (by Sally Armstrong) the author mentions Bountiful, a town in British Columbia where the citizens believe that the only way into heaven is through polygamy. In both of these towns, the girls and young women seem to have resigned themselves to their fate. The men of both of these towns are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states that everyone can follow their own religion. Regardless of some of the disturbing content, I really like both of these books.

Sister Wife: Summary and Review

Summary

Sister Wife is a novel written by Shelly Hrdlitschka about a small town called Unity. The citizens of Unity believe that the only way into heaven is through a plural marriage.

Celeste has lived in Unity her entire life, but she finds herself questioning her religious beliefs. She has fallen for a boy her own age, something which is forbidden in Unity, and now she must choose between following her religion, and following her her heart.

Review

When I began reading this book, I was rather sceptical about it because it's not the type of book I'm usually drawn to. However, the more I read, the harder it was to put it down. I got really caught up in the characters lives, especially near the end, and I even found myself getting angry at Celeste for some of the choices she was making. Overall, it's a great book, and I would recommend it to any teenage girl.

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as though you have lost a friend" -Paul Sweeney

I have to say that I agree entirely with this quote. I find that when I get to the end of a really good book, or series of books, I want to keep reading. This was especially true for me with the Harry Potter series. I didn't want it to end, and when it did, I felt sort of sad, as if I'd lost a friend.