WOLF TOWER, Claidi Journals, Book I [Hardcover]

Tanith Lee (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Series: Claidi Journals

In a triumph of teen fantasy that claims a place alongside titles by Robin McKinley and Tamora Pierce, master storyteller Tanith Lee gives us an unforgettable first-person, diary narrative that sweeps readers into an epic adventure while probing truths of adolescence.

Sixteen-year-old Claidi is an orphan, forced to serve as a handmaiden to cruel royal families in the oppressive House. Outspoken and ready for romance, she becomes embroiled in a plot to rescue a handsome, intriguing prisoner. She wins freedom for herself, too, but after journeying with him across the perilous Waste, Claidi discovers that her freedom is only a sham--and she must act boldly to destroy a conspiracy brewing across generations.

Claidi's charisma, her romantic turmoil, and the revelatory insights of her journal make Wolf Tower a novelistic coup that readers won't put down until Claidi confronts the dreadful Tower itself.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Claidi, an orphaned lady's maid to a cruel and mindless princess, jumps at the chance to escape with a handsome air balloonist who has been shot down and imprisoned. Leading Nemian through the dark tunnels and out into the Waste, however, she begins to have second thoughts, which she records regularly in the journal entries that form this enjoyable fantasy. Through encounters with tribes that seem kind, and fierce desert bandits, she learns that appearances can be deceiving. When she shows interest in Argul, leader of the bandits, Nemian pleads with her to keep on traveling with him to his home. Nemian's City and its ruling Wolf Tower are bleakly stark and sad, completely bound by rules and the roll of the dice. It turns out that Nemian's quest was to bring Claidi to his grandmother as her successor. Realizing that the punishing cruelties under which the people lived were products of the old lady's twisted imagination, Claidi takes over and breaks the Rules, proclaiming there is to be no more LAW, before being rescued, yet again, by Argul. The satisfying conclusion completes the story but leaves plenty of room for Claidi's journals to continue in sequels. The fantasy world is clearly and humorously described; its varied cultures are both amusing and believable. In spite of her moodiness, the practical and strong-willed Claidi is a likable heroine with whom fantasy readers can easily identify and they will look forward to her continuing adventures.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Lee (Saint Fire, not reviewed, etc.) opens a new series framed, belt and suspenders, in chapters and diary entries. Having grown up serving a petty, vicious princess, Claidi jumps at the chance to help in the escape of Nemian, a handsome, imprisoned prince. In their journey across the barren Waste, the pair weather dust storm and monster attack, pass through towns where sheep and clocks are worshipped, and encounter the Hulta, nomads led by Argul, a kingly youth who takes a shine to Claidi. She is attracted to him, too, especially after he rescues her from a sacrificial rite, but though familiarity has worn some of Nemian’s glitter away, Claidi decides to go on with the prince to his home in distant Wolf Tower. To her dismay, she discovers that Nemian is already married, and that she is the victim of an elaborate ruse designed to force her back into servitude. Lee gives Claidi a modern-sounding voice—believing that some of the Hulta voted against her rescue: “Now when I talk to them, I wonder which ones didn't think I was worth the trouble. I don't blame them. But yuk”—and regards the religion and politics of the Waste's residents sardonically. In the end, Argul rescues her again, and off the two ride into upcoming sequels. A diverting escapade for fans of Karen Cushman’s Catherine, Called Birdy (1994), Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted (1997), and the like. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (June 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525463941
• ISBN-13: 978-0525463948
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,051,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, atypical fantasy, June 22, 2000

By 

Jennifer Mo - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WOLF TOWER, Claidi Journals, Book I (Hardcover)

Tanith Lee writes marvelous YA fantasies-- witty, imaginative, vibrant, and thoroughly entertaining. Wolf Tower is an excellent example of her many talents, including the rare ability to write in the perspective of a teenager-- and make it sound completely genuine and convincing. There's a marvelous sense of immediacy throughout the novel as it is told in the form of a journal by sixteen year old Claidi, by turns sharp, naive, and sarcastic.

Most readers (particularly teenage girls) will be able to easily identify with Claidissa Star, even though they haven't been virtual slaves in a tightly ordered and hierarchical House. Despite continuous harsh treatment, Claidi retains much of her rebellious nature. When the handsome stranger Nemian comes to the House, she is given the opportunity to journey with him to dangerous and bizarre lands beyond the House's confines where she has her own destiny to fulfill. But it's not a destiny Claidi particularly wants...

Peopled with lively characters from a mix of highly original cultures, Wolf Tower is an unusually creative and unpredictable YA fantasy that neatly avoids many fantasy cliches and tells a thought-provoking story at the same time. If you like Wolf Tower, your best bet is probably either waiting for sequels, or reading Tanith Lee's Unicorn trilogy (Black Unicorn, Gold Unicorn, Red Unicorn) which contains the same level of originality and intelligence. By the way, Wolf Tower is one of those books that gets better with multiple readings-- I liked it much more after rereading it.

Ailanna

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Beautiful than Reality, May 25, 2002

By 

M. Smitherman (Montana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf Tower: The Claidi Journals I (Paperback)

I am writing this review because I was reading other readers' reviews, and realizing that too many of them had given away important surprising aspects of the book. When I read Wolf Tower, I did so without having any idea what the book was about, save for the vague summary on the back cover. I know you have probably already read the editor review that gives away the entire story, but I hope not.

Claidi lives in the House, an isolated oasis in the middle of what House residents call the Waste: a place of horrors where the profaners of sacred rituals are sent into exile. Claidi believes the dreadful tales of the Waste, and goes on suffering as a servant to Lady Jade Leaf in the House... until a balloon crashes in the House garden, and the balloon's occupant is put on trial. Then Claidi is swept into an adventure of her own, alongside Nemian, the golden stranger from the balloon. She comes to discover that the Waste is not at all what she has been led to believe, most things aren't what they seem, and that following her heart is, in the long run, going to make her happier than doing what her better judgement tells her is right.

I am a big fan of Tanith Lee, and have become even more so after reading Wolf Tower. The characters and places come alive, and hold more clarity than even some things in life. If you choose not to read this book, then you are truly missing a wonderful and beautiful tale. If you do decide to read it, then be prepared for a delightful, humorous, and sometimes poignant look into the life of Claidi, an ordinary girl on an extraordinary adventure.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I was so lucky to have picked it randomly off the book shelf, May 29, 2001

By 

Ginny Sue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf Tower: The Claidi Journals I (Paperback)

An amazing adventure about a princess who is a servant, an adventure who fears what's outside the house walls, a fearless clever woman hidden in the bold and vulnerable body of a girl, and a dreamer who dreamt that someone would one day read her tale. Claidi.

The fantastic story is written in a journal style, the entire novel is told first hand from the viewpoint of Claidi, a servant girl who is given the chance to run away with the handsome Prince Nemien. Fearing death in the Waste deserts beyond her home but also longing to be free of the House, where she is treated worse than a slave, and with her new desire for Nemien, Claidi accepts this new challenge.

Through villages where the inhabitants speak to sheep as family and places where the people risk their lives in their efforts to fly, Claidi follows Nemien and falls in love. She's willing to follow him anywhere and he's leading her to his home city and The Wolf Tower.

But when a dangerous bad of bandits save their lives, Claidi's life is truly torn apart. Nemien may not be the perfect prince she'd fallen in love with and perhaps there's more to head strong Argul, leader of the bandits, than meet's the eye. Remember: Nothing is ever as it seems.

*I loved this book from start to finish! The journal style of writing helps the reader to feel connected to Claidi as you share, like a closest friend, her inner most thoughts and feelings. The characters are portrayed amazingly and the ones you thought you'd never love continue to stay with you in fond memory even after you put the book down. I've read this novel more that once and I highly recommend it for the little adventurer in everyone that is trying to break free!