The Astrologer's Daughter
گزارش تخلف
کتاب های مرتبط
- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
- دیدگاه کاربران
نقد و بررسی
Starred review from April 15, 2015
A fiercely realized teen uses astrological skills to solve a heartbreaking mystery. Joanne Crowe, an astrologer so accurate and empathetic that clients became obsessed with her, knew her days were numbered. She'd always insisted on the truth of her impending "eventuality" to her daughter, Avicenna, but when Joanne goes missing, it's still a shock. As Avicenna embraces her own ability to read destinies in the stars and planets to unravel the mystery of her beloved mother's disappearance, her skills introduce her to both unlikely allies and revolting, violent foes across Melbourne's most luxurious and down-at-the-heels neighborhoods. Avicenna is a revelation: prickly and brilliant-she's the first student in years to ace the entrance exam at a highly competitive magnet high school-she pursues the truth doggedly even as the likelihood of her mother's death forces her to re-experience the physical and emotional trauma of the fire that took her father's life 10 years prior. Lim throws class differences into high relief and highlights the casual, cruel racism multiracial people still face in modern Australia. Her taut, assured thriller weaves together astrology and mythology, poetry and poverty, and several generations of mothers whose love can't protect their children from humanity's ugliest tendencies. Teen and adult readers who like their mysteries gritty and literary, with a touch of magic: seek this one out. (Mystery. 15 & up)
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June 1, 2015
Gr 9 Up-Set in Melbourne, Australia, Lim's novel is the elegantly written story of Avicenna Crowe, following the disappearance of her mother, Joanne. Avicenna is the last in a long line of Crowe women-all gifted astrologers with the ability to read people and see death. While Avicenna is resistant to use her gift, Joanne had dedicated her life to developing and reading her client's astrology charts. Willing to do anything to find her mother, the teen begins to use her gifts in astrology and her considerable intelligence to assist the police in their search and uncovers a link between her mother's disappearance and a decades-old murder. Teaming up with a former foe, Simon Thorn, to solve the mystery, the protagonist discovers that her mother had been living a secret life. Weaving the past and the present seamlessly, the book feels realistic, even as Lim straddles reality and superstition. A winning and relatable heroine, Avicenna's lack of confidence in her appearance, particularly her embarrassment over a facial scar caused by a childhood accident, often overwhelms and detracts from the narrative. Despite this, readers will root for the tragedy-prone Avicenna and her brooding ally, Simon. VERDICT A grim, often terrifying story, this mystery will keep readers guessing until the end.-Amanda Augsburger, Moline Public Library, IL
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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