Avielle of Rhia (Hardcover)

by Dia Calhoun (Author)
Key Phrases: cursed one, neighborhood council, door warden, High Hall, Augum Aslee, Master Keenum (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–Avielle is a Rhian princess, but her own people fear her. She has the silver skin and hair of her great-great-grandmother, a Dredonian who used her evil magic against Rhia. The 15-year-old, ever fearful of taking after her relative, takes comfort in her lack of magic: no magic, she reasons, no evil. Her eldest brother is in line for the throne, and she hopes to live out of the public eye. Dredonia, however, is ruled by the Brethren of the Black Cloak, evil-wizard priests who will eagerly give their lives, be it only to see one Rhian dead. They attack, and Avielle is the only member of the royal family who survives. She is taken in by a kind weaver and learns that her gift is weaving. At first she hides her identity, but as the attacks continue and suspicion of Dredonian Rhians grows, she must find the courage to come forward and save her people. This is not a light-and-fluffy fantasy: in Avielle's world, readers will see some reflection of their own. They might also see echoes of the Holocaust, as Dredonian Rhians are required to wear identifying badges when they go out in public. Themes of free will and the classic nature-vs.-nurture debate are examined as Avielle discovers her magic and learns how to control it. This is a coming-of-age story disguised as a fantasy, and it should appeal to any girl who has ever felt uncomfortable in her own skin.–Laurie Slagenwhite, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Fifteen-year-old Princess Avielle is a "silver skin," a Rhian who has the silver coloring, pointed ears, and forehead ridges that mark the Rhian's magical Dredonian neighbors. Though many Rhians are part Dredonian, Avielle is shunned for resembling her Dredonian great-great-grandmother, infamous for placing a terrible curse on the kingdom. When Dredonia, ruled by evil wizard-priests, slaughters the Rhian royal family, Avielle escapes and goes into hiding as an apprentice weaver. In this close-knit community of artisans, she discovers that she has a magical gift for weaving but fears embracing it will cause further evil. Avielle is clever and compassionate, and her spot-on descriptions of the individuals she encounters ("the medals and the top of his head both shone, as if both had been freshly spat upon and polished") are delightful. Evocative scenes of Avielle's weaving symbolize her inner journey, and readers will empathize with the girl as she struggles to accept her Dredonian heritage, her magic, and her duty while weathering prejudice and her own unconscious hatred. The ending is pat and overdone, but the pattern author Calhoun weaves is rich and complex. Krista Hutley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 397 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761453202
• ISBN-13: 978-0761453208
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,128,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Avielle of Rhia, February 24, 2007

A Kid's Review

This book has an interesting cover- to be sure. I was excited to get this book, but when I read it I was faintly dissapointed. The writer hung on to topics too long for my taste. She also made the main character way too nice. From what I think- the character in the book does not match a leader's character. The writer also skips events too. Like in one area she talks about Avielle teaching this guy who discriminates against Drendorians- to read. But then she skips all the lessons. At the end the guy says something about being able to treat "silverskins" ok. (Silverskins are people who look like Drendorian which is a 'evil' country, because of their partial Dredorian blood) She did not take step by step towards that outcome, therefore I was quite surprised when he said that. (I know it's confusing to read what I mean) OK... so what is good about this book to raise it into a four? The topic's are good and she talks throughly about the discrimination part. The plot is pretty good even though its got some errors. The writings really good to. Even though she uses mostly simple language- she uses it well. The main plot is to make Avielle true hearted and kind enough to rule. Avielle has to also learn to use her magic which she dispises. I thought that was kind of unique. The 'bad' country just didn't have all evil. Something evil was stalking THAT country. I thought THAT was pretty good, too. I enjoyed this book but not as much as Eragon or Tamora Pierce books. I reccomend this for GIRLS who like to read fantasy on something warlike but not so gorey. This book doesn't have any of that LOVE disease (luckly). So you won't find a romance of some sort in here. You should read Firegold if you like this book. It has some of the discrimination too from this book, but it tends to be more warlike.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced fantasy adventure, recommended for older teens., December 9, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Dia Calhoun's AVIELLE OF RHIA tells of a teen princess of Rhia who resembles a grandmother who practiced evil magic. Everyone expects Avielle to turn evil as well - and Avielle is shunned by others even as she fears for her kingdom which may go to war with Dredonia, a kingdom under the rule of evil wizard-priests. When Avielle escapes her family's murder, she finds herself assuming a secret identity, learning a new gift, and at last coming to terms with the possibility of evil within herself in this fast-paced fantasy adventure, recommended for older teens.

2.0 out of 5 stars Terrorism: the fantasy allegory, June 1, 2009

By	fidistria (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

A careful reader, who can make it past the saccharinely pale and angelic portrait on the cover, will note that Dia Calhoun dedicates this novel to "all victims of terrorism." It's a worthy thought, but an unnecessary one. No one could mistake this plodding, preachy, and sappy story for anything but a lesson about love, compassion, and tolerance in the face of thinly veiled Islamic terrorism.

Princess Avielle has the silvery skin and unusual bone structure of the Dodranians, inherited from her evil grandmother and a source of shame and torment for her at the intolerant Rhian court. When her entire family is wiped out by a magical terrorist attack at the hands of the Black Brethren (read: the Taliban), the ruling fundamentalist cabal of Dodrania, Avielle survives and must go into hiding, using and coming to terms with her gifts as a weaver and magician in a cheerful neighborhood of picturesque and eccentric commoners. Meanwhile, both the terrorist threats from Dodrania and the backlash against Rhians of Dodranian descent are increasing, allowing Calhoun to preach many lessons of tolerance and courage.

Some of the characters are interesting (although notably NOT the too-perfect, too-kind, too-naive and too-talented Avielle), and the story might be passable if it weren't for the heavy-handedness with which the morals are provided. There are awkward scenes, such as Avielle's encounter with refugee boys from the oppressive Brethren and consequent stirrings of compassion, where characters make textbook flips from prejudiced to tolerant, and a similarly predictable finale where Avielle summons the courage to fight the good fight on behalf of her country and all humankind.

It is hard to imagine the target audience of this book: 10-14 year old girls who like fairy-tales but are passionately Islamiphobic? As a member of the choir (and admittedly, rather out of the target age-group) I found them merely trite, and I cannot imagine that any child would not find them insulting.