Unknown Title

Title:

Dragonfly song / by Wendy Orr.

Author:

Orr, Wendy, 1953- author.

ISBN:

9781772780376

Personal Author:

Orr, Wendy, 1953- author.

Physical Description:

393 pages : b illustrations, map ; 21 cm

Content Type:

text

Media Type (RDA):

unmediated

Carrier Type:

volume

General Note:

Originally published by Allen & Unwin: Crow's Nest, New South Wales, Australia, 2016.

Abstract:

"Nobody but the old wise-woman knows what truly happened to Aissa, the firstborn daughter of the priestess. If they saw the half-moon scars on the servant girl's wrists they would find it out, but who would look twice at lowly, mute No-Name? Only the Lady's cats, and the fireflies summoned by her silent song. Then the soldiers of Crete come, demanding children as tribute for their god-king's bull dances, and Aissa is determined to take destiny into her own scarred hands. A gripping Bronze-Age fantasy from award-winning author Wendy Orr." -- Page 4 of cover.

Reading Level:

For readers about 8 to 12.

Subject Term:

Bronze age -- Greece -- Juvenile fiction.

Mutism -- Juvenile fiction.

Human-animal communication -- Juvenile fiction.

Fantasy fiction -- Juvenile fiction.

Survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Civilization, Ancient -- Juvenile fiction.

Civilization, Classical -- Juvenile fiction.

Bronze age -- Greece -- Fiction.

Mutism -- Fiction.

Human-animal communication -- Fiction.

Fantasy fiction -- Fiction.

Survival -- Fiction.

Civilization, Ancient -- Fiction.

Civilization, Classical -- Fiction.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Format:

Books

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Batavia - Richmond Memorial Library	34020003717053	J FIC ORR (FANTASY)	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lockport Public Library	34094003596395	YA ORR (FANTASY)	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lyndonville - Yates Community Library	34098000340624	YA ORR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... North Tonawanda Public Library	34120006175075	YA FIC ORR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A gripping upper-middle-grade fantasy set in Bronze-Age Crete from Nim's Island author Wendy Orr

The girl has had many selves in her short life. The first she remembers is Aissa, the daughter of Mama and Dada, sister to Zufi who watched the goats. Then the Bull King's raiders came, and Mama said, "Don't make a sound till I come back." And when the villagers found her she was silent as stone, because Mama never came back again.

So the villagers cursed her as back luck and made her No-Name, lowest of the servants to the Lady, the island's priestess. But there were whispers, as she grew, of another self: of the Lady's rejected first daughter, born imperfect with two extra thumbs. The silent girl looks at the scars on her wrists and wonders, but she has more pressing concerns. The villagers blame her bad luck for the tribute the Bull King now demands of them: two youths given each spring to dance with his bulls and die for his god's glory. And the servants hate and fear the unnatural way the animals all come to her. For Aissa, though, this bond with creatures of fur and scale is the first clue in finding the true self that no one else can give to her, or take away.

Wendy Orr, the author of Nim's Island , introduces a resourceful and resilient heroine for slightly older readers. Inspired by an archeological trip to the island of Crete, where frescoes show figures leaping over the backs of bulls, Orr weaves an intriguing mythological portrayal of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization. Lyrically written and refreshingly unpredictable, Dragonfly Song suggests a fascinating origin for the legend of the Minotaur and his dark tribute.

Author Notes

Wendy Orr is the author of Rescue on Nim's Island which made the Wilderness Society 2015 children's book award shortlist in the category of Fiction. Her book, Dragonfly Song, was a joint winner of the 2017 Prime Minister's Literary Awards for children's nonfiction. Dragonfly Song also won the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, Children's literature.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (4)

Bookseller Publisher Review

Born into privilege that is swiftly taken from her, Aissa learns early how painful life can be. In servitude at the age of four, never speaking and frequently mistreated, she accepts this is her lot in life, yet somehow still finds ways to learn, grow and explore. Aissa's position in her society changes several times until, at 12, she is taken to become a bull dancer, a sacrifice in all but name. But the path has never been straight for Aissa, and her world continues to change and expand, right into the final pages. A beautifully written historical fantasy set in an ancient era, Dragonfly Song is a somewhat dark exploration of a child's life in a harsh time. While in many ways this is a mature story, Wendy Orr deftly controls the content and narrative voice to engage the younger reader. Reminiscent in style of Glenda Millard's 'Kingdom of Silk' books, albeit in a form that is perhaps a little overlong for the audience, Dragonfly Song straddles the gap between children's and young-adult fiction and will reward the extending reader with its lyrical elements-an intriguing combination of prose and free verse-alongside strong characterisation and a skilfully unfolded story. Tehani Wessely is a teacher-librarian, publisher and literary awards judge

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Aissa is the firstborn daughter of the Lady, the village priestess, but the extra thumb on each of her hands makes her unworthy in the eyes of the gods. She is supposed to be left to die, but the Lady's wise woman quietly sneaks Aissa to a family of goatherds across the mountain. When that family is also tragically lost to her, Aissa finds herself back in the Lady's house, working as a servant and choosing to be mute. Abused, rejected, and knowing nothing of her true parentage, Aissa is eventually cast out of the city by the other servants. Each year, soldiers from Crete come for one boy and one girl tribute to dance with the bulls. If they survive, their community is freed from providing future tributes, but no one has ever come back. Aissa has nothing to lose and decides to dance with the bulls. The Bronze Age setting makes for a unique backdrop, and Aissa is a sympathetic character. Her struggles are heartrending, and made more so by the lyrical storytelling style. The descriptions of the dances are especially vivid. VERDICT Hand-sell this unusual tale to fans of Shannon Hale's historical fantasies.-Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Orr (Nim's Island, 2001, etc.) delivers a fantasy that follows an ill-fated girl's journey from abandoned to accepted. When Aissa is born with tiny, pink thumbs wiggling from her wrists, the Lady, her mother, is furious. Why have the gods forsaken her, the Lady wonders. Unable to bear the imperfection of her child, she demands that the wise-woman Kelya take the child and toss it off a cliff. Kelya cannot do it, however, and instead places the babe with a family that has just lost a newborn. Thus begins the arduous journey of a child forced to survive by her wits, who seems doomed to suffer loss after loss. Orphaned a second time and now a nameless servant in the palace, now-12-year-old Aissa sees opportunity in being chosen a bull dancer, one of the yearly sacrifices to the Bull Kingbut without a name, she cannot be chosen. Orr tells her tale in both narrative poetry and prose for an effect that is both fanciful and urgent, drawing a rich fantasy landscape filled with people and creatures worthy of knowing. An introductory note describes Orr's inspiration in the legend of the Minotaur, but her story is no retelling but a meditation on rejection and acceptance, on determination and self-determination. The shifts between poetry and prose build tension just as surely as the bull dances do. As mesmerizing as a mermaid's kiss, the story dances with emotion, fire, and promise. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

For some, to be chosen as a dancer by the Bull King is to be chosen for certain death. For Aissa, it is a chance at life. Abandoned by her mother at birth and relegated to a life of slavery, Aissa lives the first 12 years of her life in silence. Deemed cursed by those she serves death often comes to those who grow close to her she wants nothing more than to be chosen as a bull dancer, one of the yearly sacrifices to the Bull King. If only she can get to his island, Aissa is sure that she can win back her freedom. A retelling of the legend of the Minotaur, Orr (Nim's Island, 1999) tells Aissa's tale in a lyrical mix of narrative poetry and prose, using lush, vivid language to create an unparalleled fantasy world full of life and lively characters. While young readers with a special interest in history will immediately be drawn into this meticulously researched, literary story, its fast-paced, adventurous, epic feel will undoubtedly appeal to all readers.--Kuss, Rebecca Copyright 2018 Booklist