Forest of Souls
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Lori M. Lee's Forest of Souls is the opening volume of a new series involving death-defying friendship between two teen girls, set in a fantasy world of hostile kingdoms with varying relationships to magic and those who practice it. Those worlds are separated by the Dead Wood, which seizes unwary travelers and devours them body and soul. Narrator/protagonist/orphan Sirscha is obsessively ambitious about improving her fighting skills so that she can become a career spy and assassin, but is also deeply bonded to her BFF, the aristocratic Saengo, who's killed in an ambush early in the tale and brought back to life by Sirscha, who has unexpected (and unknown) magical powers. From the routine torture and beating of students to the extermination of entire races, with plenty of hacking, slashing, stabbing, spurting blood, and strategic crotch-kicking along the way, the violence (supernatural and otherwise) is relentless, and for many will overshadow the intriguing premise of a story with two friends, two princes, and no romance in sight.
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What's the Story?
In the kingdom of Evewyn, Sirscha Ashwyn, abused orphan, and Saengo Phang, privileged aristocrat, come from very different worlds and have very different goals, but their friendship is strong -- so strong that when Saengo is killed in an ambush, Sirscha unexpectedly brings her back to life. In a world of warring, mostly magical kingdoms kept apart by the FOREST OF SOULS on their border, Sirscha's newfound ability, not seen for centuries, quickly attracts attention, and the two girls are soon undertaking a mission for the Spider King, battling dark forces, soul-destroying diseases, and power-mad royals bent on destroying the peace.
Is It Any Good?
This is a dark magical tale of two teens, their death-defying friendship, murderous spirits in the trees and even more murderous, and power-hungry, royals on the throne. With two princes as peripheral characters, Sirscha and Saengo take center stage both in battle heroics and in working out the unexpected changes in their friendship when, in a moment of transformative revelation, Sirscha brings Saengo back to life in the wake of an ambush. Forest of Souls runs heavily to gore- and special effects-packed fight scenes with much carnage, and the relentless violence (physical, emotional, and magical) seems as much the point of the story as does the protagonists' friendship. This is the first volume of Lori M. Lee's planned trilogy, and the ending leaves plenty of wreckage, unexpected developments, and potential for further struggle.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the deadly, body-and-soul-snatching Forest of Souls, a fearsome place for any who must enter it. Why do you think forests are such a popular setting for scary stories? What stories do you think do the best job with this theme?
Sirscha and Saengo's relationship goes through many changes and much worry in the wake of Saengo's death and revival. How do you think life-changing experiences affect friendships? Have you seen this in your own life or your friends'? What happened and how did everyone deal with it?
Is bringing people back to life a power you'd like to have? What other stories have you read or seen where someone revives a dead person? How does this one compare?
Book Details
- Author: Lori M. Lee
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, Friendship, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Page Street Kids
- Publication date: June 23, 2020
- Number of pages: 400
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 14, 2020
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For kids who love magic and friendship
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