Written by Geoff Rodkey
This is a great follow-up to Deadweather and Sunrise, but it definitely does not stand on its own without reading the first volume. It picks up right where Deadweather ends: the swashbuckling continues, the plot twists continue, the humor continues, and we encounter some new places, characters, and cultures, all vividly described. I don’t want to spoil the first volume by sharing details. Egg and the other characters are great fallible heroes: they makes mistakes and try to fix them, they struggle and improve, and they have to rely on each other to get through things. Perhaps my favorite thing about this series is how in the midst of all the action Rodkey is able to touch upon serious issues of war, colonialism, slavery, political struggles, cultural differences, and all sorts of questions of power and morality as Egg and the other characters work through them. I feel that the author’s invention of a new geography and history on which to impose these very real themes allows him and his characters to explore them more fully, and also spin a great tale. These books are a lot of fun, but they will also give readers much to think about and discuss. I can’t wait for the concluding volume in the saga.
Review by Joshua Whiting, Granite School District Library Specialist
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
Read a sample chapter!
www.chroniclesofegg.com
geoffrodkey.com
New Lands (The Chronicles of Egg, Book 2)
Written by Geoff Rodkey
Putnam
336 pages
Release Date: May 9, 2013
ISBN: 9780399257865 (hardcover)
