The Latest From C.K. Donnelly

Donnelly’s  immersive  second volume in  the Kinderra  Saga follows  16- year-old  Mirana  Pinal’s  journey  to protect her  world  of  Kinderra  from destruction. Mirana is a Trine—“One who  possess all three powers of the Aspects”—and must save her people by finding her ancestor’s watch watchtower, built  to defend Kinderra  before it  falls into  the Dark Trine’s hands,  while  also  learning  about her  own  powers from  the legendary Light Trine, Tetric Garis. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Teague Beltran, Mirana’s childhood  friend  and love,  seeks  the  Dark Trine  to avenge his  parents’ deaths,  using  his  skills  as an herbsman to fight  against  the Dark Trine’s followers, the Ken’nar. But all is not as it seems, and Mirana struggles to learn who she can trust in her battle for survival.

Young adult readers will be drawn to Mirana as she fights to find her place in “war, the endless cycle  of hate” threatening her  people. Her journey to understand and believe in the source of her own power is painful at times,

yet often moving,  and she  rebels against  trusting  herself,  as in  her  own  words—“using  the Power from Without  isn’t  a selfless giving  of one’s  life  force  from  within  the Aspects,  it  is  taking.”  Also compelling  is Teague’s  conviction  that “my  anger and grief  are all I  have left”  as well  as his  desperation  to be  able  to physically fight his enemies.

Donnelly includes  a glossary of relevant terminology  that,  while  helpful,  can also  overwhelm,  as it  charts suffixes  and  linguistic  matters.  However,  that  dedication  to  invented  languages,  and  the  maps  and appendices, invite readers to delve  as deeper into Kinderra as they care to; fantasy fans especially will be pleased with the convincing world  that Donnelly has taken such  pains to build. Naturally, this vivid voyage into  a well-established  realm  and its  ongoing  battle  between Light  and Dark builds  to cliffhanger—  and exemplifies its genre.

Takeaway: Young adult and fantasy readers will relish this world  of magic and war, with characters facing grief and self-doubt. Great for fans of: Cinda Williams Chima’s The Warrior Heir, Megan Bannen’s Soulswift.

Production grades

Cover: A

Design and typography: A-

Illustrations: A-

Editing: A

Marketing copy: A

Wow, Trine Rising was full of twists and turns that I was not expecting. Mirana is a very unique character. While you think she is your archetypal young adult fiction heroine, she is just the opposite. She is not someone who thinks she isn’t special. She knows she is special and knows for a fact that she can be dangerous to people. Author C.K. Donnelly did a great job of building Mirana’s development. Mirana is no wallflower, but she grows and learns to be more comfortable in her skin as the story progresses. The mystery behind the Dark Trine and the Ken’nar attack was introduced strategically to have maximum impact on readers. I could tell that the author planned out this whole story to make it believable, entertaining, and nail-bitingly good.

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