Editorial Reviews
Children's Literature
Enna was first introduced to the Young Adult audience in Shannon Hale's award winning prequel, Goose Girl, as the faithful friend to Isi, who is a renowned heroine in her own right. Two years later, Enna faces challenges, dangers, and adventures even greater than before. Living peacefully among the forest of her origin seems to be the path of Enna's future until her brother, Leifer, following the directions of a mysterious cloth, learns the art of fire-talking. Although Enna fears the powers demonstrated by Leifer, she is also fascinated by the possibilities for patriotism, especially when Bayern, home of her beloved Isi, is swept into war. Readers are impelled along as Leifer suffers the consequences of his hypnotic discovery, and Enna experiments with fire, just for the benefit of the country, she tells herself. Although she has warned Leifer that fire can only live by destroying, Enna becomes entangled in the web of fire-talking, destruction, and secret sorties into enemy country with her friends Razo and Finn. Capture, drugs, deception, escape, death, and final victory for good, all take readers on a fast-paced ride into metaphorical questions that are a contemporary as tomorrow's news. Enna's story is a compelling moral tale that teens, classroom teachers, and parents will find memorable and hopeful. Readers will eagerly anticipate the third book in the series. 2004, Bloomsbury Publishing, Ages 12 to 16.
—Janice DeLong
KLIATT
Readers need to have read The Goose Girl to enjoy this sequel, because so many of the characters grow out of the first book. The fantasy world created by Hale is rich indeed, and Enna's story adds a further dimension. Enna is one of Princess Isa's friends. Isa had received a gift of controlling the wind in book one; in this volume, Enna is given the gift of fire. But this is very dangerous. Not only can the fire be destructive outside of Enna, but if she tries to keep it contained inside her body, the heat can kill her. There are horses, battles, romance, and mysticism—a combination that appeals to YA readers. (Sequel to The Goose Girl). KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2004, Bloomsbury, 317p., Ages 12 to 18.
—Claire Rosser
School Library Journal
Gr 6-10- This companion novel (Bloomsbury, 2004) to Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl (Bloomsbury, 2003) provides a closer look at the emotional and physical struggles of 16-year-old Enna who discovers that she is able to burn at will. Can she control her power and use it help save the kingdom of Bayern from the attacks of neighboring Tira, and ultimately rid herself of its all consuming nature or will she, like her brother before her, become swept up by the fire's own dark need? This full-cast recording suffers from uneven narration. Some characters, and the full range of their emotions, are strongly portrayed, in particular the protagonist Enna. The consistently excellent voice of the background reader weaves its own spell and ties the cast and plot together. However, the simpering and grating voicing of Princess Isi detracts from the listening experience. Despite this flaw, fans of the first book will welcome the opportunity to learn more about Enna and her struggle to find her place in the world and will delight especially in the story's romantic resolution.-Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library, OH
Kirkus Reviews
Those who thrilled to Hale's re-imagining of The Goose Girl (2003) will probably be as delighted with this sequel, as Enna the forest girl takes the stage. Enna (once the closest companion to Isi, formerly the Goose Girl and now queen) watches, not understanding, as her brother learns to control fire, to hold it within himself, and to send it forth as he wills. When he chooses to consume himself in battle, she takes on his gift. Extraordinary images of fire, heat, and light fill this slightly overlong tale. Enna's fire can be seen as desire, or a drug, or the will to power, or simply as a gift that must be made manifest. Hale's burning prose, while weighted to talk rather than action, allows for many themes: the devoted friendship between women, as Isi and Enna risk their lives for each other; the appeal of the bad boy, as the soldier who holds Enna prisoner also lays dark siege to her heart; the gentle, devoted suitor Finn, who always manages to find a place by Enna's side to do what needs to be done. Powerful and romantic. (Fiction. YA)
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