Mana's Story

The Kin #4

by Peter Dickinson

The Kin, traveling across a treacherous marsh in search of a new home in prehistoric times, come under attack from ferocious new enemies, and depend on Mana, a gentle young girl, to help them achieve peace. Simultaneous.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens

211 pages, Paperback

Published April 5, 1999

About the author

Peter Dickinson was an English author and poet widely respected for his children's fiction, detective novels, and imaginative speculative writing. Raised partly in southern Africa before continuing his education in England, he developed an early fascination with adventure stories and classic literature, influences that later shaped his narrative style. He attended Eton College and later studied at King's College, Cambridge, before beginning a long association with the magazine Punch, where he worked for many years as assistant editor, reviewer, and resident poet. Dickinson eventually left journalism to pursue writing full time, publishing works for both adult and younger audiences. His crime novels featuring detective James Pibble earned critical praise, while his fiction for children established him as one of Britain's most distinguished authors in the field. Over the course of his career he produced nearly fifty books that combined historical imagination, fantasy, and thoughtful reflections on human behavior. He achieved rare distinction by winning the Carnegie Medal twice, for Tulku and City of Gold, recognition that placed him among the most celebrated children's writers in Britain. Dickinson also received numerous other literary honors and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In addition to fiction, he wrote poetry and essays, and his work continued to influence generations of readers and writers in the field of children's literature.

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were somethings changed in this book and I can't put my finger on it. I didn't like this book as much as the other books in this series. An okay story, but could have been better.

[Char · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my full review please visit my blog: The Kin: Mana's Story review @ From the Shadows I Review


The author changed things with this book and I don't think it worked. The main thing is the style of the oldtales, I personally didn't like the simpler way of telling them. I get that it's how the Kin would have told them but after three books of the other way it wasn't necessary to change the style. Also I think the plot of this story was slower than the others and it didn't grab me as the others did. I had to force myself to sit down and read the story. Saying that, the wirting and scene setting were phenomenal and I enjoyed them very much.


This is Mana's story and if I'm honest I wish it wasn't. Mana never really stood out in the previous stories as she had no personality or any quirks whatsoever. Wuth that opinion pretty much on my mind as I picked this up I hoped that the author was going to change my mind. That didn't happen though. She was dull as dishwater and being stuck with her PoV nearly bored me to tears. Tan was barely even mentioned but the other former children of the Kin (Suth, Tinu, Noli and Ko) seemed to have rediscovered the closeness of the first two books which I was glad to see.


Overall this book isn't as good as the others and I'm really disappointed by this. The oldtales were weak, the plot never really got going and the lead character failed to connect with me. As this is the last book I was hoping that such a good series would have a strong end. I found that there were still some loose ends that I would've liked clearing up. As it is this is pretty forgettable. I only finished this 2 hours ago and the details are starting to slip away. However I stand by my positive notes, the writing and scene setting were incredible and I think that having the children that were abandoned by the Kin close to one another is incredibly important.

[Stella Thress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mana goes and searches for a new home and on her way she finds new things and new people. This book is a recommend.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F DIC kin

Fantasy