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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 1, 2007
Thea is a double seventh--a seventh child of two seventh children--and so, as soon as she is born, great things are expected of her. Everyone waits anxiously for her sure-to-be powerful magic to reveal itself.
And waits. And waits.
She disappoints everyone with her lack of the magic almost everyone in her world has, even those who can't show it, like her parents. However, in a last-ditch attempt to find Thea's power, her father sends her to another world, where her teacher, Chevyo, helps her to discover her own abilities.
Back home, however, Thea attends the Wandless Academy, where those hopeless cases are sent to be isolated from magic. There, her strange powers that Chevyo helped her find in the other world come in surprisingly handy when she and a few friends, thought to be talentless and useless by much of their society, are called upon to save their world.
GIFT OF THE UNMAGE was a good book, really, but at times I felt like it had a lot of potential to be even better, so I was a little disappointed. It's still worth the read for those who are looking for this sort of fantasy, however, and I will be looking forward to Ms. Alexander's next books.
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully wriiten book..., February 2, 2008
This book was a perfect mixture of Madeline L'Engle's a Wrinkle In Time, old native american folklore, with some Hogwarts academy thrown in. Thea is the main character of the book and she wonderfully portrays a young woman who is unsure of herself in society and at home. This book made me think and I loved it!!! A part of me related whole heartedly with Thea, I too doubted my place at home and in society when I was her age. I too had to (and still do) ask why?, to every thing and anything. I will warn you that this book isn't a light read, but if you are looking for a book that is going to make you feel good and make you think about life (or your supposed life path is) then this is the book for you.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thoughtful, delightful YA fantasy, May 14, 2007
"Gift of the Unmage" is the first book in a YA trilogy aimed at an audience that wants more from fantasy than a standard kids-defeat-evil theme. What sets this book over and above other YA books in the genre (a certain boy wizard comes to mind) is the inner conflict. Thea is a real teen, with real doubts, uncertainties, and questions about herself and the situations she faces. The enemies aren't all externalized Bad Guys Out To Destroy The World; there are inner demons that must be faced as well. Anyone who has gone through the teenage years, or is going through them, will instantly recognize the confusion and turmoil that goes along with being human.
And that is ultimately the best part of the book: Thea is human. She doesn't always do the right thing, and she faces the consequences of her actions when through the best of intentions she makes a wrong choice. Again, unlike the boy wizard books where everyone is the same at the end of the books as they were at the beginning, Thea changes, grows, and learns from her mistakes.
If I had a complaint, it is that the book is not long enough. There are numerous plot threads, external and internal, and at the end I was wishing for another couple hundred pages to watch the playful weaving move towards the upcoming major conflict. I'm sure that is what will happen in Book 2, but it is going to be difficult to wait for Book 2 to hit the shelves.
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