ONE GIRL MUST EMBRACE HER DESTINY AND FIGHT TO SAVE HER PEOPLE FROM A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH.
Dara has managed to save her people from one enemy but the cost has been high. While Dara struggles to come to terms with the loss of beloved friends, she finds herself thrust into the leadership role of an improbable army and learns that it is her destiny to unite her people as one.
To fulfill her destiny, Dara must embark on a treacherous journey to find her ancestors and unite her people in the face of the biggest challenge they have ever faced:Chaos. Dormant for almost two hundred years, Chaos has returned, intent on destroying Dara.
"The biggest strength of this series is...the inventiveness. There are all sorts of well-described fantasy creatures and the world building is solid...if you're looking for an adventurous fantasy read, check this series out." --YA Highway
About the Author
Barry Hoffman is a magazine and book publisher, award-winning author and former inner-city public school teacher. He always felt, while he taught, that there was a lack of interesting, educational and moving young adult fiction, especially books that highlighted a female protagonist. He decided to do something about it by creating The Shamra Chronicles. In 2009 Curse of the Shamra: Book One of the Shamra Chronicles (Gauntlet Press) was published to critical acclaim, followed by Shamra Divided in 2010, and Chaos Unleashed (coming 2011). Hoffman's writings have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He is the author of seven novels and short story collections, and his work has been praised by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Fantasy & Science Fiction, among others. Most recently he has given away over 10,000 copies of Curse of the Shamra to schools and other educational institutions nationwide in an effort to advance literacy among the underprivileged.
Barry Hoffman has been a teacher, a publisher, an editor, and, of course, a writer. Hoffman's eight adult books have been well received by critics and most recently, he is the author of the popular young adult novels, The Shamra Chronicles; the last novel in the series, Chaos Unleashed, will be released May 2011. What do all of his novels have in common? All have females as protagonists and more than half of the antagonists are also females. These female characters are strong and often flawed, but they are definitely not dependent on males to save the day.
As the father to two strong-willed, independent daughters (one of whom was named after Shamra's Dara), grandfather to a ten-year old granddaughter in the same mold, and teacher to fifth to eighth grade students, Barry was influenced to write these kinds of strong female characters. Throughout his thirty years as an inner-city school teacher in Philadelphia, he found the eleven to fourteen year old girls he taught to have unique and diverse personalities, which helped shape the young women in The Shamra Chronicles. In fact, each book of The Shamra Chronicles is populated with young women bearing a remarkable resemblance to those who have walked through his classroom door.
Barry believes that adolescent and teenage girls need to read books where there are positive role models with which they can identify. He has written all three Shamra Chronicles books: Curse of the Shamra, Shamra Divided, and Chaos Unleashed with the hope that girls will latch onto Dara as an independent, increasingly mature young woman, rather than reading novels where the main female character is submissive and subject to the whims of the boy over which she obsesses.
Inspired by President Obama's call to give back to the community, Barry set out to donate 10,000 copies of his young adult novel Curse of the Shamra in 2009. He provided copies to schools (with a special focus on Title 1 schools in dire need of resources), libraries, military families, Girl Scouts, and other organizations with a Young Adult audience. He has already surpassed his goal, giving away 11,145 copies of The Shamra Chronicles to date!
Barry also conducted an Author in Residence program in 2009 and 2010 at classrooms in Colorado. The students all received free copies of Curse of the Shamra, and Barry led weekly discussions about characters, plot developments, choices made and their consequences, along with discussing critical thinking and writing skills. The project culminated with student projects and essays.
In addition to writing The Shamra Chronicles and eight other novels, Barry is well-known as the Publisher and Editor of Gauntlet Magazine, a magazine dealing with censorship, and as Publisher at Gauntlet Press, Winner of 1999 Stoker Award for Best Small Press, which produces collectible editions of classic and previously unpublished books. Barry has lived in Colorado since 2002. He grew up in New York and spent his entire teaching career in Philadelphia.
This review is from: Shamra Divided: Book Two of The Shamra Chronicles (Paperback)
Shamra Divided is book two of Barry Hoffman's series from The Shamra Chronicles...
Filled with adventure, magic, passion, prejudice, responsibility, leadership, heritage, and more....this novel follows the life of Shamra who is a strong willed girl who must save her people....A once dormant enemy awakens and becomes her strongest nemesis....Chaos.
Chaos is intent on destroying civilizations and killing Dara. Shamra must be true to herself, realize her heritage, and take on the responsibility while fighting this enemy. A novel that is spellbinding, captivating and well written.
I recommend it to readers of fantasy, paranormal, and adventure epic. I enjoyed it a lot and believe YA are a prefect audience for this type of noel and I would recommend it to my high school.
Reviewed By Ami Blackwelder
[...]
June 13th
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Shamra Divided: Book Two of The Shamra Chronicles (Paperback)
All it takes is one person, no matter how insignificant, to take humanity off the road to Chaos. "Shamra Divided" is the second book of the Shamra Chronicles as young Dara must lead an army against oppression and rise up against a powerful force called Chaos, something she alone may be the only one to stop. "Shamra Divided" is a fantastic fantasy that genre fans will simply love.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Shamra Divided: Book Two of The Shamra Chronicles (Paperback)
The magical adventure continues with SHAMRA DIVIDED, the second installment of Barry Hoffman's Young Adult trilogy about Dara, a little Shamra girl with a very big spirit. The story opens with Dara leading an improbable, impromptu army into a dark forest as they flee subjugation of greedy tyrants that have overrun their homeland. As Dara and her beloved sidekick, Tyler, a fierce little creature called a Bauble, enter the darkest regions of the forest, Dara learns secrets about her own heritage. Dara must face terrible truths and terrifying foes that include false friends and false prophets. But there is something even more dangerous waiting for Dara, a foe of unimaginable power and treachery called Chaos, a creature that has been dormant for nearly two centuries. When Chaos awakens, Dara must battle the most ferocious enemy she has ever encountered to save the lives of her friends and, indeed, civilization. With great humor and high adventure, SHAMRA DIVIDED demonstrates how young girls must stay strong and rely on their best judgment to navigate successfully through life. Young readers will be swept away by Dara's heroic story, and it is a perfect opportunity for parents and educators to encourage discussions about personal responsibility and life's choices.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
