Watersmeet [Hardcover]

Ellen Jensen Abbott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

From her birth, Abisina has been outcast--for the color of her eyes and skin, and for her lack of a father. Only her mother's status as the village healer has kept her safe. But when a mythic leader arrives, Abisina's life is ripped apart. She escapes alone to try to find the father and the home she has never known. In a world of extremes, from the deepest prejudice to the greatest bonds of duty and loyalty, Abisina must find her own way and decide where her true hope lies.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–10—From birth Abisina has been an outcast because she doesn't have light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. Only her mother's status as Vranille's only healer has saved the 14-year-old from being abandoned outside the village walls, prey to centaurs, dwarves, and worse. The arrival of the long-awaited Charach, the Deliverer, is a disaster. He incites the community to slaughter the outcasts, Abisina's mother is killed, and the teen barely escapes. Armed with her mother's necklace and not much else, the girl heads off to find Watersmeet, and, hopefully, her father. She encounters a plethora of otherworldly creatures, becomes the reluctant traveling companion of a dwarf, loses a toe to evil centaurs, and finally makes it to Watersmeet, where creatures of all kinds live in harmony. She meets her father, who is much more than she could have ever imagined, and reluctantly participates in the battle to save the world from Charach. While there isn't anything particularly new here, this book has a positive message of tolerance and acceptance, and the ending, while abrupt, is ultimately satisfying and leaves the door open for a sequel.—Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
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From Booklist

Long ago, Vran led his people to a new land, driving off the hated “monsters” (dwarves, centaurs, fauns) who had lived there for generations. Abisina has been outcast in Vranille for her “dwarf dirty” coloring since birth. Her mother’s status as the healer keeps her safe until Charach, an evil, charismatic leader, comes to cleanse Vranille of the unworthy. Abisina’s only hope is to find her father in distant Watersmeet, but to get there, she will have to travel with one of the “vile half-men,” Haret, a dwarf. During their dangerous journey, Abisina and Haret learn to trust each other, and they find a home in Watersmeet, where all creatures live together under the leadership of Abisina’s father. This new sense of place is threatened when the Vranians move to destroy all nonhumans. Abbott’s debut fantasy centers on Abisina, who learns in small, realistic ways to let go of her deeply rooted prejudices to see the worth in all creatures, including herself. While the sudden, peaceful resolution strains credibility, this is otherwise a hopeful, nuanced story. Grades 7-10. --Krista Hutley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 341 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761455361
• ISBN-13: 978-0761455363
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stong debut, April 19, 2009

By 

Liviania - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Watersmeet (Hardcover)

Abisina lives in a repressive community, following the laws/religious codes of Vran, which declare her an outcast. The only reason she wasn't exposed to the elements at birth was her mother's powerful position as the village healer. But another charismatic leader is about to come to power, and his rise is bad news for all the outcasts - human and other.

Events cause Abisina to seek her father, in the far village of Watersmeet. But her journey causes her to face her own prejudices, and realize she's not the only one discriminated against. Ellen Jensen Abbott does a wonderful job of showing how being oppressed and mistreated doesn't stop you from doing the same to others - and that it's hard to learn to do anything else. It's not very subtle and at times I worried some of the metaphors/allegories were too bold, but I think the message is well presented for the age level.

The publisher, Marshall Cavendish, is marketing the book as twelve and up, but I think younger kids will enjoy it to provided they don't mind a little violence. (Nothing that's not in a Disney movie, to be honest.) I know I would've been happy if I found WATERSMEET on the shelves in elementary school.

It's got a lot of the classic fantasy elements - secret parentage, fantastic sentient creatures, a quest, and a climatic battle. But Abbott doesn't make the proceedings route - she imbues the characters with a variety of reasonable backgrounds and desires. It's a tale of cultures clashing as much as it is a fantastic quest, and that needs development of societies and mindsets.

WATERSMEET is a very quick read, at least for someone older. A class was unexpectedly cancelled and I read the entire novel waiting for the next class to begin. (Minus the time ducking into a convenience store to buy some cheese because the opening made me really hungry for it. That's the power of description for you.) I enjoy picking up something that can make me think while maintaining forward momentum.

WATERSMEET is Abbott's first novel, and it's an excellent start to her writing career. (The way it ends makes me hope that there will be a sequel. Things tie up, but there's certainly room to explore more of the world.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, April 22, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Watersmeet (Hardcover)

W-A-T-E-R-S-M-E-E-T. The word easily rolls off my tongue. The cover with the picture of the girl caught my attention first. She has the look of a scared, caged animal. I want to know what Watersmeet is. As I usually do with fantasy books, I dove into this book with gusto. Any book that can keep me interested from beginning to end and not drag is a good thing.....

First time novelist Ellen Jensen Abbott has impressed me with her book, WATERSMEET.

There are many forms of prejudice in Vranille. Every day it is a fight for survival for Abisina. Shunned constantly and roughly pushed aside by others, Abisina is an outcast just because of how she looks. The worst thing about being an outcast is the all-consuming loneliness she felt on an everyday basis. There's always a fight for food and no one, unless they were an outcast themselves, is allowed to talk to her.

The only thing that kept her alive was her mother, who was the village healer. Things are about to go from bad to worse for Abisina. Someone other than her mother is about to come into power, meaning bad news for all outcasts.

Forced to flee, she heads to Watersmeet for help in the form of her father, a man she has never known. Along the way, she sees fauns, has a run-in with centaurs, eats a poisonous mushroom to save herself, faces minataurs, and has the courage to continue on.

Will Watersmeet be her salvation or her downfall?

The teacher in me came out as I was reading this book - you can easily make comparisons between this fantasy world and the real world we live in. How many times have people in this world faced prejudice, violence, and oppression, all because they were different than the ideal that society has imposed? Remember the Holocaust and Hitler? I saw many similarities between Charach and Hitler. Both were very charismatic leaders and no one saw the evil side of them until it was too late. You can do a lot of interesting activities in the classroom with this book.

Abisina changes a lot in the course of this story. There were many challenges she faced that brought upon these changes. First and foremost, and probably the most important, is that she had to look at the prejudices in herself. Once that was done, she became more forgiving, accepting, and tolerant. This, of course, is crucial if she wants to continue the legacy of Vigor.

Does that mean we will see more of Abisina in the future? I certainly hope so.

Reviewed by: coollibrarianchick

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Story Siren Reviews:, April 23, 2009

By 

The Story Siren "Kristi" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Watersmeet (Hardcover)

Watersmeet was a fascinating and truly impressive debut novel. Abbott's writing style is very easy to read. The fantasy world that is created contains many mythical creatures- fairies, trolls, dwarfs, fauns, and centuars, but at the same time it deals with the same issues we face in today's society- discrimination, prejudice, tolerance and acceptance.

The main character Abisina deals with many of those issues throughout the novel. Abisina is a terribly flawed character, but I think that is what makes her so believable. While I didn't always agree with her, I enjoyed seeing her personal growth within the novel.

Plot wise, there was some unexpected twists that I didn't even see coming. The story was revealed at a steady pace, and there were never moments where I felt like it was dragging. I did developed a few issues about three quarters of the way through the novel, but luckily those issues were addressed in a satisfying manner. The ending was a little disappointing for me, I definitely preferred the epilogue.

Overall, a great read for fantasy fans.