The Reader

Starred review from June 27, 2016
After 15-year-old orphan Sefia is separated from her aunt, she sets out on a rescue mission. Determined to learn the truth about her past and the rectangular object she’s spent her life hiding, Sefia eventually discovers that the item—bound paper covered in symbols—is a book. Books, reading, and writing are unheard of in the land of Kelanna, but Sefia is certain that this book holds the answers she seeks. She is joined in her quest by a mute, nameless boy, whom she rescues from a life of forced cage fighting. The book Sefia carries, which initially seems to be filled with stories and myths, becomes increasingly mysterious when she learns that the people and accounts detailed within are true. Chee’s debut is an intricate, multilayered reading experience, but the author avoids leading readers along too transparently, trusting them to puzzle together the pieces surrounding the mystery of Sefia’s past. An exploration of self-determination and the magic of the written word, Sefia’s story is an absorbing introduction to the Sea of Ink and Gold series. Ages 12–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Agency.

The first in the Sea of Ink and Gold series introduces listeners to the lushly portrayed violent world in which Sefia struggles for survival. Kim Mai Guest's light, young-sounding tone reflects Sefia's youth and graceful athleticism as she fights soldier agents of the rulers who have already left her orphaned. Fully voiced speaking roles for Sefia, the boy she rescues from captivity, her elderly aunt, and the roughneck soldiers and sailors with whom she engages in physical skirmishes and battles of wit are each so evocative that the tale unwinds with almost visual clarity. At the heart of this dystopian story is Sefia's illegal possession of a book, an artifact almost unknown in her culture, and her successful effort to teach herself the means to access its contents. The cliff-hanger ending leaves listeners eager for the next episode. F.M.R.G. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine