100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Hanna wants nothing more than to hone her magic skills to become a Witch and go on an adventure like her Pirate's namesake, Ananna.  Instead, she is sailing as a fisherman's apprentice to her mother's friennd, Kolur.  Hanna helps to control the sea winds with her wind magic. However, Kolur has other plans and forces Hanna to help him on a fool's errand in the dangerous and magical northern islands, far from Hanna's home.  Kolur has kidnapped in order to use her magic against the dangerous Mists that he will be fighting.  Along the way a mysterious not-so-human boy, Isolfr contacts Hanna and says that he is there to help against the Mists.  Will Hanna get the adventure that she wanted?  Will she become a Witch?

I enjoyed riding along on this suspenseful journey with Hanna as she makes choices that may affect her entire world. You can really see how Hanna's character develops and matures as she faces new obstacles.  It is nice reading about a younger girl character that can take care of herself and take charge when she needs to, even if she makes some mistakes along the way.  With great descriptions, Cassandra Rose Clarke has built a beautiful world, even though much of the action takes place on ships, I still felt a strong sense of what life is like on each of the islands that Hanna visits.  It seems like we are waiting an awfully long time for something big to happen; but there is a cliffhanger at the end...so we'll see where the next book goes.  I'd also like to know more about the beautiful Isolfr.