Publication Date: December 30, 2003 | Series: Great Alta Saga
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Book Two of the Great Alta Saga
Jenna was the White Queen.
Skada was the Dark Queen. She is bound to Jenna—the other half of Jenna’s self. Drawn out of a mirror by a rite of magic, a “dark sister” is confined to the dark. She vanishes in daylight. It is in this other world the dark sisters wait for moonlight or lamplight to call them forth again.
This is their story: of myths turned real, ordinary people turned heroes, a land turned inside out by the coming of White Jenna.
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This sequel to Sister Light, Sister Dark follows Jenna into adulthood as she reluctantly fulfills the prophesy naming her the Anna, the warrior queen who will lead her people out of oppression. In the land of the Dales, conquered by the patriarchial Garunians, women living in communities known as Hames train girls to be warriors. They are able to call up their dark sisters, shadow souls who appear in the flesh with the moon or firelight to fight and work and love as their light sisters do. Jenna and two companions--Petra, a priestess in training, and Catrona, a warrior, plan to warn the other Hames of the danger from the usurping Lord Kalas. The small band joins up with the deposed king and his brother, Jenna's love Carum, whom she had rescued years before. The king uses Jenna to gain a greater following, but they are still too few. Yolen weaves a magical tale with wry, true-to-life observation, poetry and a touch of wit. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“A magical tale.” —Publishers Weekly
“A strong book that will expand the horizons of its readers.” —Library Journal
Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."
Jane Yolen is a superbly gifted artist. In _Sister Light, Sister Dark_, she introduced us to White Jenna, the Anna of prophecy and a young woman caught up in matters beyond her understanding; the end to Jenna's story is found in this sequel, _White Jenna_. Here we see a continuation of a very intriguing, original theme: the difference between myth, legend, history, and truth, where what really happened may strike historians as the incredible thing of all.
It's a shame, though, that the story itself isn't quite as mesmerizing as the theme behind it. The large role promised to Skada on the bookflap is never actually given; rather than sister, Dark Queen, and equal, she seems more like Jenna's convenient and helpful servant, showing up only in times of trouble. Large spans of time are skipped over; the fast-forwarding through the rest of Jenna's life was particularly irritating. Most of the characters either weren't developed as fully as they could have been or seemed like clones of earlier ones--there was remarkably little difference between Pynt and Petra, given that the latter originally seemed much more serious-minded. And despite what I said earlier about the main charm of the book being its comparison of history and truth, myth and reality, Jenna really did seem to accomplish amazingly little for a woman whose coming has been foretold for centuries and who was supposed to be a Goddess's good right hand.
Still, it's not at all a bad book. People who enjoyed the first in the series should likewise enjoy this one, for even with all its flaws, Jenna is as intriguing a heroine as ever, Carum as winsome, and Skada as entertaining. I probably wouldn't advise anyone to read this unless they've already read _Sister Light, Sister Dark_, though; whoever tries to do so is likely to end up very confused.
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This review is from: White Jenna: Book Two of the Great Alta Saga (Mass Market Paperback)
Jane Yolen weaves an intricately beautiful story that is all together a love story between a woman and a man, a woman and her people (which she comes to find are much broader in scope than she originally believed) and a woman and her inner self, her "dark sister." It is absolutely satisfying to read and wander the world that Yolen created. Her language is poetry. It flows off the tongue with grace and elegance. I thoroughly enjoyed these two books that comprise the Great Alta Saga!
Sister Light, Sister Dark: Book One of the Great Alta Saga[
[ASIN:031286258X The Books of Great Alta: Comprising 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna']]
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This book was a wonder! I couldn't put it down and read it in one hour flat!! The sequel to Sister Light, Sister Dark explained what it's predessor didn't and became one of my favorite books in the world!<P>I was entranced by the descriptions of how the dark sisters vanished in light and reapeared in the shadow. I as well hope a sequel comes along too
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