Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) [Hardcover]

Kathleen Duey (Author), Sheila Rayyan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2007

Sadima lives in a world where magic has been banned, leaving poor villagers prey to fakes and charlatans. A "magician" stole her family's few valuables and left Sadima's mother to die on the day Sadima was born. But vestiges of magic are hidden in old rhymes and hearth tales and in people like Sadima, who conceals her silent communication with animals for fear of rejection and ridicule. When rumours of her gift reach Somiss, a young nobleman obsessed with restoring magic, he sends Franklin, his lifelong servant, to find her. Sadima's joy at sharing her secret becomes love for the man she shares it with. But Franklin's irrevocable bond to the brilliant and dangerous Somiss traps her, too, and she faces a heartbreaking decision. Centuries later, magic has been restored, but it is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within a sequestered academy of magic. Hahp, the expendable second son of a rich merchant, is forced into the academy and finds himself paired with Gerrard, a peasant boy inexplicably admitted with nine sons of privilege and wealth. Only one of the ten students will graduate -- and the first academic requirement is survival. Sadima's and Hahp's worlds are separated by generations, but their lives are connected in surprising and powerful ways in this brilliant first book of Kathleen Duey's dark, complex, and completely compelling trilogy.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this darkly atmospheric fantasy, the first in a planned trilogy called A Resurrection of Magic, Duey weaves together the stories of two teens who live in a world in which the working of magic has a turbulent history. When her bitter father dies, Sadima, a young woman who can communicate with animals, keeps house for two renegade magicians at a time when magic has been outlawed. Her experiences, which include learning to read and falling in love, alternate with those of Hahp, born generations after Sadima. Exiled by his wealthy, disapproving father, he attends a school of wizardry where, among other unpleasantness, students are starved to death if they can't conjure up food. The pacing in this page-turner accelerates as the stories progress and links between them emerge, moving toward a cliffhanger ending that will leave readers anxious for future installments. Rayyan's chapter-header spot artwork was not seen in the galleys. Tixier Herald, Diana

Review

"Beautifully written, fierce, and unforgettable." -- Holly Black, author of Tithe --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; First edition. edition (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689840934
• ISBN-13: 978-0689840937
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have published over 80 books for children of all ages and YA/Adult readers. Many have won state and national awards and all of them have brought me the kind of fan mail that writers love to get.

Two from today's email (Jan 27 11)
Dear Ms. Duey,

I am 8 years old and I live in Catalonia (Spain). I just finished reading your book "Moonsilver" with my mom, and I really liked it. I want to ask you, what was your dream in 3rd grade? I'm asking you because at the end of the book, it says that the series of the Unicorn's Secret books is based on a dream you had in 3rd grade. I am in third grade right now, so I'm really curious!!!
Please tell me

(writer's name)



Dear Ms. Duey,

I loved your book the Unicorn's Secret. Me and my mom read it together. I like your books because I like unicorns and your story was very exciting. I like to draw unicorns. They are one of my favorite animals. I have two stuffed animal unicorns. One is named Sparkle. I sleep with her every night. Did you always want to be a writer? Have you ever seen a real unicorn? I am in 1st grade. I love to read. When I grow up I want to be a animal trainer and I want to train unicorns if I can find one.

LOVE , (writer's name)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YA readers are writing a lot, too. Most say something like this one:

I have been waiting for the third book in Skin Hunger trilogy forever. Ok not forever but it feels like it. When is it coming out? How long will you make me wait? I love these books and am really needing to know what happens to Sadima and Hahp!!!!!


I know, me, too. Please read below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If it is later than 6:30am PST, I am probably writing, even if I am on an airplane. I might be working on a faerie book or writing about unicorns for grade school kids, or I could be lost in something dark, detailed, and strange for YA/adult readers. The third book in the Resurrection of Magic Trilogy is dragging me through the woods. I am working on it every day, and am Skying instead of traveling to schools and libraries until I get it DONE. It's taking wild amazing turns and I love it.

If I am not working...I might be answering readers who contact me through my website: http://www.kathleenduey.com Thanks to everyone who gets in touch with me on Facebook, my blog, http://kathleenduey.blogspot.com/, Twitter, and all the other ways to reach me. I can't keep up anymore, but I try to answer questions and I send out signed bookplates when I can. It means so much to know that you like my books.

I appear at schools, bookstores, and teach at writers' conferences nationwide and internationally. There is a schedule on my website and I try to keep it current.
And more and more... I Skype. It's a wonderful way to meet readers in classrooms and at libraries, I love to drop in on book clubs and critique groups, then get back to work!

Book news: The Unicorn's Secret books are getting lovely new covers by Sandara Tang, an amazing artist based in Singapore. The fan mail astounds me.
Sandara is the cover artist for the new kid's series The Faerie's Promise, too. Excerpts from all my books are on http://www.kathleenduey.com

YA NOVEL ONLINE/IN PROGRESS: RUSSET fans: http://russet-one-wing.blogspot.com/
I am accumulating entries and will tag you all when there is more to read. Give me your contact info and I will add you to the alert list. kathleenduey at earthlink dot net

The third book of my YA/adult trilogy is in the works now. I don't have a release date yet because I still writing like MAD. But it will be ASAP, I promise. The story is taking amazing turns and dragging me through the woods the way the first two did. Thanks!!!! to the thousands of people asking when it will come out.

You have no idea how happy that makes me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and intense, September 17, 2007

By 

Lynn "YA Librarian" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) (Hardcover)

As a high school librarian, I get frustrated when a few books get a lot of attention when there are so many high quality books for young adults out there. This book is one of the quiet gems that I want to share with all of my students because Duey has created characters that are truly resonate with teenagers. Even though the situation Sadima and Hahp are in may not be familliar in time or place, there are so many aspects of who they are that mirror teens that I see every day. I, myself, adored Sadima and her heartfelt love and connection with animals. Hahp's pain and desperation is physically painful to me, as a reader, because Hahp is such a "real" person.

One of my students took the book on Friday, and when she returned it this morning (Monday), she said that she hasn't found a book that she got so lost in in a long time. And this is one of my most prolific readers, so she had a broad frame of reference.

Share this book with teens (and adults) in your life! It's one of the better young adult books published this year!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 10, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Despite what the cover may say, Kathleen Duey's SKIN HUNGER, first installment of her fantasy trilogy A RESURRECTION OF MAGIC, is not a novel. It's a third of a novel. Or maybe it's two novels. Maybe it's a sixth. But anyway you slice the cake, it's not enough.

The book alternates chapters narrated by Sadima, a farm girl, and Hahp, a second born son of a cruel merchant. The catch is that they live several generations apart. One in a world that desperately needs magic and the other in one saturated and corrupted by it.

The story opens on the night Sadima is born. Her family is cheated by a fake magician, who instead of assisting in the birth, steals their valuables and lets her mother die. Unsurprisingly, Sadima grows up in a family that hates magic and she is forced to hide her gift of understanding animals. Franklin, a servant of a young nobleman named Somiss, finds her and tells her about his belief that magic will solve all the problems of the world. Together, the three try to rediscover magic. Hahp is sent to an academy of magic. There are nine other boys. Eight of them come from wealthy families and the ninth, Hahp's roommate, is a mysterious peasant named Gerrard. Unlike Franklin's lofty ideals of teaching everyone magic, here everyone must earn the right to learn. And those who do not or cannot will die.

I think this book will appeal to both boys and girls. Initially, each protagonist seems to represent the traditional story of their gender. For Sadima, the girl, it is a love story and for Hahp, the boy, it is an adventure story. At first, I thought the sweetness of Sadima's part was a nice balance to Hahp's grittier and darker part. Over time, the two stories blur together. What Sadima does is now inextricably connected to Hahp's outcome and the future explains the past.

The book is extremely vivid and well thought out. Kathleen Duey creates many unique, strong, and complex major characters. It is undeniably a very dark book, but the main characters are too optimistic and hopeful to make it depressing. Even though it is 357 pages, the font is larger than normal and I finished it in one sitting. And as hinted in the beginning, (and I hope I'm not giving too much away), the story ends with a teeth-gnashing cliffhanger.

I really like how the story is aimed at ages twelve and up, but does not dumb down or gloss over the grittier aspects of life, such as the death of a loved one and the difficulties and consequences of making your own decisions. At the same time, I hesitate to recommend this book to grade school and possibly junior high students. If it were a movie, the violence would probably give it an "R" rating. However, the blood and gore is never gratuitous and always serves to improve the story. I have seen more graphic writing in historical fiction aimed at this age group, such Donna Jo Napoli's STONES IN WATER. It also has the same amount of emotional turmoil in any of the later HARRY POTTER and HIS DARK MATERIALS books. Not for the faint of heart, but still a great first book in what seems to be an addictive trilogy.

Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, August 14, 2007

By 

D. Stockley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Skin Hunger is a smart, challenging, character driven fantasy that deals with difficult issues of abuse, deprivation, love, and misplaced loyalty. Fans of LeGuin's Earthsea series should take note.