Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Sheila Rayyan (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: skin hunger, wizard pounded, South End, Market Square, Mattie Han (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this darkly atmospheric fantasy, the first in a planned trilogy called A Resurrection of Magic, Duey weaves together the stories of two teens who live in a world in which the working of magic has a turbulent history. When her bitter father dies, Sadima, a young woman who can communicate with animals, keeps house for two renegade magicians at a time when magic has been outlawed. Her experiences, which include learning to read and falling in love, alternate with those of Hahp, born generations after Sadima. Exiled by his wealthy, disapproving father, he attends a school of wizardry where, among other unpleasantness, students are starved to death if they can't conjure up food. The pacing in this page-turner accelerates as the stories progress and links between them emerge, moving toward a cliffhanger ending that will leave readers anxious for future installments. Rayyan's chapter-header spot artwork was not seen in the galleys. Tixier Herald, Diana

Review

"Beautifully written, fierce, and unforgettable."

-- Holly Black, author of Tithe

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689840934
• ISBN-13: 978-0689840937
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #655,683 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Resurrection of Magic Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and intense, September 17, 2007

By	Lynn Evarts "YA Librarian" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a high school librarian, I get frustrated when a few books get a lot of attention when there are so many high quality books for young adults out there. This book is one of the quiet gems that I want to share with all of my students because Duey has created characters that are truly resonate with teenagers. Even though the situation Sadima and Hahp are in may not be familliar in time or place, there are so many aspects of who they are that mirror teens that I see every day. I, myself, adored Sadima and her heartfelt love and connection with animals. Hahp's pain and desperation is physically painful to me, as a reader, because Hahp is such a "real" person.

One of my students took the book on Friday, and when she returned it this morning (Monday), she said that she hasn't found a book that she got so lost in in a long time. And this is one of my most prolific readers, so she had a broad frame of reference.

Share this book with teens (and adults) in your life! It's one of the better young adult books published this year!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 10, 2007

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

Despite what the cover may say, Kathleen Duey's SKIN HUNGER, first installment of her fantasy trilogy A RESURRECTION OF MAGIC, is not a novel. It's a third of a novel. Or maybe it's two novels. Maybe it's a sixth. But anyway you slice the cake, it's not enough.

The book alternates chapters narrated by Sadima, a farm girl, and Hahp, a second born son of a cruel merchant. The catch is that they live several generations apart. One in a world that desperately needs magic and the other in one saturated and corrupted by it.

The story opens on the night Sadima is born. Her family is cheated by a fake magician, who instead of assisting in the birth, steals their valuables and lets her mother die. Unsurprisingly, Sadima grows up in a family that hates magic and she is forced to hide her gift of understanding animals. Franklin, a servant of a young nobleman named Somiss, finds her and tells her about his belief that magic will solve all the problems of the world. Together, the three try to rediscover magic. Hahp is sent to an academy of magic. There are nine other boys. Eight of them come from wealthy families and the ninth, Hahp's roommate, is a mysterious peasant named Gerrard. Unlike Franklin's lofty ideals of teaching everyone magic, here everyone must earn the right to learn. And those who do not or cannot will die.

I think this book will appeal to both boys and girls. Initially, each protagonist seems to represent the traditional story of their gender. For Sadima, the girl, it is a love story and for Hahp, the boy, it is an adventure story. At first, I thought the sweetness of Sadima's part was a nice balance to Hahp's grittier and darker part. Over time, the two stories blur together. What Sadima does is now inextricably connected to Hahp's outcome and the future explains the past.

The book is extremely vivid and well thought out. Kathleen Duey creates many unique, strong, and complex major characters. It is undeniably a very dark book, but the main characters are too optimistic and hopeful to make it depressing. Even though it is 357 pages, the font is larger than normal and I finished it in one sitting. And as hinted in the beginning, (and I hope I'm not giving too much away), the story ends with a teeth-gnashing cliffhanger.

I really like how the story is aimed at ages twelve and up, but does not dumb down or gloss over the grittier aspects of life, such as the death of a loved one and the difficulties and consequences of making your own decisions. At the same time, I hesitate to recommend this book to grade school and possibly junior high students. If it were a movie, the violence would probably give it an "R" rating. However, the blood and gore is never gratuitous and always serves to improve the story. I have seen more graphic writing in historical fiction aimed at this age group, such Donna Jo Napoli's STONES IN WATER. It also has the same amount of emotional turmoil in any of the later HARRY POTTER and HIS DARK MATERIALS books. Not for the faint of heart, but still a great first book in what seems to be an addictive trilogy.

Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, August 14, 2007

By	D. Stockley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Skin Hunger is a smart, challenging, character driven fantasy that deals with difficult issues of abuse, deprivation, love, and misplaced loyalty. Fans of LeGuin's Earthsea series should take note.