Night's Child (Sweep, No. 15) [School & Library Binding]

Cate Tiernan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up--Moira Byrne, the 15-year-old daughter of the powerful witch Morgan of Belwicket, is faced with devastating family secrets, horrible forces, blossoming love, and possible betrayal in the 15th book of the series. Learning of her heritage, Moira gains insight and strength to conquer her fears, defeat evil, and face the future. This coming-of-age story succeeds because of balance. No one element overshadows another. The characters are well drawn and readers will empathize and agonize with Moira and Morgan's experiences and relationships with each other and the other figures in the book. The sturdy plot moves toward a satisfactory and sigh-of-relief conclusion. The mood and tension are skillfully sustained throughout, and the integration of factual information enhances the character development. The conversational tone of the writing makes this story highly readable and engaging. A good choice for fans of the series as well as those new to it.--Molly S. Kinney, Peach Public Libraries, Fort Valley, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Cate Tiernan lives in Durham, North Carolina.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• School & Library Binding: 384 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613665953
• ISBN-13: 978-0613665957
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,532,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cate Tiernan lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a new book, August 12, 2004

By 

Cshady "Claire" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night's Child (Sweep, No. 15) (School & Library Binding)

Before anybody buys this book, let's make one thing clear: Moira's Story is the same thing as Night's Child. Moira's Story was a filler title before the title Night's Child was even decided. Amazon.com just never changed it.

This book is a library bound book, meaning it's a paperback bound with a hardcover. This makes paperback-released-only books more durable on the library shelves than a flimsy paperback (which can get torn up).

You can buy this if you so desire, but don't expect this to be a new Sweep book (the series is over, unfortunately).

I hope this helps out some people.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Out of All his Children, Morgan Inherited Da's Greatness..", October 27, 2004

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Night's Child (Sweep, No. 15) (Paperback)

After the colossal disappointment of the last book in the Sweep series "Full Circle", I was both relieved and wary that another conclusion had been written. "Night's Child" is set several years after the events of "Full Circle" with Morgan and Hunter as twenty-something year olds. Proposing marriage, Hunter plans to settle down and run New Charter (the new alternative to the Council) from home. He has only one last journey to make, and it is here that disaster strikes. The ferry he is travelling on sinks, and no trace is found of Hunter, dead or alive.

The story picks up again fifteen years later: Morgan had married a man named Colm and they had a daughter named Moira. Unfortunately Colm was killed in a car accident and now Morgan and Moira live together in Ireland, members of the Belwicket coven. Despite this tragedy, the two of them are happy enough - despite the rivalry between Belwicket and another coven led by Lilith Delaney that is rumoured to dabble in black magic.

But then things begin to happen: Morgan finds dark magic littered around her front garden, and objects on the ground that remind her of Hunter. When Moira begins dating Ian Delaney, Lilith's son, Morgan is terrified the past is repeating itself in terms of her history with Selene and Cal. Afraid for her daughter Morgan begins an investigation to find who is behind these attacks - could it be to do with her father's family? Are Lilith and Ian really dangerous? Is it possible that Hunter is still alive? Is another dark wave looming?

At times, especially near the beginning, the writing is slow and sluggish with detailed descriptions of Moira's witchcraft classes and Morgan's healing rites. Often Tiernan repeats or contradicts herself several times in the text, for instance, Morgan thinks: "To end a relationship with her soulmate was fighting destiny." On the very next page we are told: "With the way things were, they had to pursue their separate destinies." Er - is it just me, or did Tiernan just tell us that soulmates shared the *same* destinies? There are several more inconsistencies like this throughout the story.

Furthermore, Tiernan's grasp of Irish dialect is painful to behold: "Away with ya" and "what a beautiful day, nae?" appear clumsy and inaccurate. Although the main culprit behind the attacks is an innovative idea, Tiernan drives home the possibility of Ian being evil so many times that it becomes fairly certain he *isn't*.

Readers may be vastly disappointed at the lack of characters appearing from previous books. Bree, Robbie, Raven, Alyce, Alwyn, Mary K. and Morgan's parents are all given brief updates on where they are and what they're doing, but the rest of the Kithic coven are completely forgotten. Alisa is mentioned, but no information is given on what she's now up to, which is really quite unforgivable considering Tiernan devoted an entire book to her in the series. Killian turns up briefly and out of the blue, and then just as inexplicitly disappears. Daniel Niall is mentioned several times, but no information is given on either him or his other son Linden. Dagda is dead. Only Sky is given a useful and interesting place within the context of the story.

Yet despite all this, "Night's Child" was the conclusion to this series that I was hoping for. Morgan is a reasonable portrayal of the teenager we knew in the series, and Moira is a likeable, spunky young heroine who reacts realistically enough to the situation unfolding around her. There are some nice new characters, such as Morgan's mother-in-law Katrina, and toward the end the plot unfolds quickly and excitingly. This should definitely be the end of the "Sweep" series, as Tiernan only just gets away with recycling several old ideas (ie, a replay of the Selena/Cal storyline, another dark wave, another threat from Morgan's family) and it wraps up nearly every loose end from the other books. Despite its faults, I was satisfied with this ending.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Aptly-Named Super Edition, October 29, 2003

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night's Child (Sweep, No. 15) (Paperback)

This is a new story of Morgan but not in the regular series (hence it is not labeled 15). Much time has gone by and Morgan has a 15-year-old daughter named Moira.

The book opens with a prologue not too long after Full Circle. Morgan has returned to Ireland and is helping to rebuild Belwicket. Hunter is traveling all over setting up the New Charter, the successor of the Council. But tragedy strikes and the book shoots forward 15+ years.

The story is told in alternating fashion between Morgan's and Moira's viewpoints. Moira is looking forward to her initiation and a boy seems to be interested in her. Her mother is immediately suspicious. Between that and spellcraft homework, Moira comes to learn far more of her mother's past. As she tries to deal with the knowledge and how it might affect herself, Moira gets caught up in events as danger returns from the past.

An excellent story that starts grim but is compelling right to the wonderful ending. Hopefully there will be more of these Super Editions in the future.