Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: ancestral magic, true weaver, third feather, Grandmother Spider, Big Elk, Aunt Zoë (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

They say there's no heavier burden than great potential, and Thea is weighted down. The seventh child of two seventh children, she has been watched from near and far for signs of magical greatness, but, alas, none have appeared. Her perpetually disappointed father finally brings her to a place where she meets Grandma Spider, who shows her that she has the ability to weave dreams and stories and a new life for herself. But Thea, who has subjugated her powers to thwart enemies, now finds that they won't take no for an answer. The book, which is the first in the Worldweavers trilogy, is itself divided into three parts: before, during, and after Thea's spirit quest. Alexander does an exquisite job of showing Thea's growth, her ability to maintain her own counsel, and her boldness. Although the languid pacing in the middle is appropriate to the action, it does drag the story a bit. But once Thea is at Wandless Academy for the magically challenged, she faces a barrage of experiences, many terrifying. Readers will look forward to finding out how Thea saves her world. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"An excellent start to a new series with a fascinating premise." -- Realms of Fantasy

"Entertainingly different, engagingly familiar." -- Locus

"Readers will find the inscrutible Thea remarkable." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for SPELLSPAM:"An incredibly enjoyable tale that blends reality, legend, and magic in one of the freshest fantasy narratives this year." -- KLIATT (starred review)

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060839554
• ISBN-13: 978-0060839550
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,125,466 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 1, 2007

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

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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully wriiten book..., February 2, 2008

By	E. Hill "book lover" (Palm Bay, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting mystery, February 25, 2008

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Dylan James (age 11) for Reader Views (2/08)

Thea is sad and troubled for a lot of reasons. In a world of mages, she is one of the only kids that can't do magic. Tired of being mocked and pitied, she spends most of her time sulking. But then a change happens for the better (or the worse): her father sends her to a mysterious land through a portal as a last resort to get magic flowing through her veins. Knowing nothing of this land, she explores until she finds a mysterious character that will be her teacher. At long last, she discovers how to do magic, but when she goes back to her home world, she finds she can't do it. Disappointed, her father sends her to a school for kids that have problems with magic. Bored, Thea starts investigating the school. After looking through the seemingly peaceful school, she discovers a sinister threat and a plot to take over the world.

This book is surprising, full of weirdness, and very descriptive. A lot of things people look for in a book are here, but I think the author is overdoing the descriptive parts a little. There are a lot of parts where I was very tempted to skip pages. This book would go a long way if it took out some descriptive parts and added some action parts. Also, it's very confusing how you see a character for ten pages or so and then you never see him/her again. I think there should have been at least a little more reference to characters like that. The only descriptive thing that should be added is the main character's age. It might have been in there somewhere, but I sure didn't see it. The bad thing called the "nothing" is not faced at all until the last thirty pages of the book. Even though there are some faults, the end was very well-written and could capture any reader's attention; sadly, my attention was lost by the 250th page (the book is 389 pages). I think this book would have benefitted from cutting out some descriptive parts, which would have made it a lot better.

If the author writes a sequel to this one, I will definitely try to get it though because the end was great. It got me thinking that the next book would be better. "Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage" ends with the main character figuring out how to use magic, and that makes readers eagerly anticipate the next book.