Here is the second volume of Margaret Buffie's Watcher's Quest trilogy. Emma's Earth mother, Leto, is dying. Longing to be reunited with her human daughter, Ailla, who was stolen at birth, she has lost her will to live. Emma has pledged to find the missing child and restore order to her adopted family's life. But the quest becomes a dangerous race when Emma realizes she isn't the only one searching for Ailla.
Seeker FROM THE CRITICS Quill and Quire This is the second book of The Watcher¿¿¿s Quest Serie Emma must
seek her sister while Fergus and his arch-enemy/companion secretly play
an overarching game against each other. This is one of the ways in which
Buffie elevates what could have been a standard quest narrative. Emma is
playing a game within a game within a game
Buffie invents beautifully imagined worlds, exquisite villains and a
cast of delightfully improbable quest companions, including Cill, a
sweet pile of walking leaves. Emma wants to see the world in black and
white but Buffie weaves in shades of grey, which puzzles her
protagonist. Against the grey our hero obsesses about whom to trust. Who
are her real friends? And most critically, can she trust her own
instincts? The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. The ending, which
is tied up without being strangled, raises as many questions as it
answers. Winnipeg Free Press With numerous other strange and wonderful inventions, the
(Seeker) provides ample evidence of Buffie¿¿¿s fertile imagination and
innovative skills.
VOYA - Tegan Kronwell, Teen Reviewer
This fantastic book is well thought out. The characters are great, and you don't need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy and understand the sequel. Buffie is an ingenious writer. Once a reader thinks she has the plot all worked out, the author throws in a curveball. I highly recommend the novel for any type of reader. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Kids Can Press, 248p, KLIATT - Deirdre Root
Emma, once a Canadian farm girl, has found her true destiny as a Watcher, a guardian angel of sorts in a multi-world game of empires. Still in training, she is suddenly called on to undertake a dangerous mission: Emma is a changeling, left with her family in the place of a human child, and she must now find her mother's true daughter. If she succeeds, her mother will live and her father will be returned to the family; if not, her mother may die. With Tom, a fellow Watcher, she gathers a strange crew of helpers, solves some riddles and finds her "sister." But Emma's quest is only one small part of a longer and much more dangerous game. This second book in the Watcher's Quest trilogy (following The Watcher) takes its time getting started, but the quest is fun and fans of the first book should enjoy it. Buy where the first book was popular. (The Watcher's Quest). KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2002, Kids Can Read Press, 368p., Ages 12 to 18. School Library Journal Gr 7-10-Buffie picks up the action shortly after the conclusion of The Watcher (Kids Can, 2000). Emma, raised as human, now knows herself to be an alien Watcher, sent to Earth to protect her changeling sister, Summer, now the queen of Argadnel. The protagonist finds herself involved in the interplanetary gaming between Fergus of Cleave and his rivals, playing a magical board game to earn her freedom, and the chance to search for her mother's true daughter, Ailla, whose presence may restore her mother's health. With her friend Tom, a Watcher who has been transformed into a bird by Fergus, and a series of allies and enemies, Emma travels through alien worlds in a real-life game where Ailla is the prize. Emma is a headstrong, appealing narrator, and Buffie uses her first-person perspective to smoothly provide background for readers unfamiliar with the first volume. The characters have depth and complex motivations, keeping the protagonist and readers guessing about who her true friends may be. While the initial slow pacing may be daunting, this is a good choice for sophisticated fantasy readers, with a strong appeal for gaming fans looking for a darker, more complex story than Diana Wynne Jones's The Homeward Bounders (Greenwillow, 2002).-Beth L. Meister, Yeshiva of Central Queens, Flushing, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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