Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn

Spirit is from a family of seers but hasn't received the family gift yet.  She's 12 and she should have it, but it just hasn't shown up yet.  Her father can hold house keys and see into the future.  It's not real clear, but he gets a premonition and it always comes true.  It can be good or bad, but it will happen.  When he tells his neighbor he can see his house burning, the neighbor gets mad and refuses to leave the island.  Island dwellers are like that.  After so many years there, it's like they and the island are attached...

Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 9th, so grab a copy then.

I enjoyed this book for more than one reason.  I like magic and I love animals.  It turns out Spirit's key is her dog.  He died, she buried him and now he's appearing to her.  It's with his help and the help of a friend that Spirit manages to ferret out why the island dogs are dying.

The island dogs were there before the people and are feral.  The island people once got sick from a disease carried by a dog so they leave them alone.  Spirit tamed one and they ran over the beach together for years.  She still tries to protect them from the people.

Another islander fear is illness.  Anytime anyone gets sick, they quarantine them.  They don't want the illness to spread because it's a long way to a hospital.  When her father gets ill as the power leaves him and transfers to Spirit, he gets taken away to be quarantined.  She's not happy with that but can't stop it. As she works on saving him, she finds out why the wild dogs are dying. 

The tale kept my attention all the way through and it's told well.  I could see the homes in my mind and the dog running on the beach.  I felt Spirit's pain at the loss of her dog and her father's quarantine.  And I admired her personal strength and determination that let her see it through to the end.  This book will stick with me for a while.  Why don't you see what you think about it?

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