Poisoned

Dawn's End #2

by Bonnie Ferrante

Sixteen-year-old Anastacia was told her father died in Africa when she was three. But there are no photographs of him, and she doesn't have a birth certificate. When Anastacia travels to Lucerne, Switzerland to attend a wedding and stumbles upon a different reality--in fact, a whole new world--what she learns tears apart her ideas of family and self. Why did her mother, Nicole, tell her a history of lies?

A new evil is spoiling Dawn's End, Anastacia's idyllic birthplace. Who can she trust? How much can be forgiven? Should she follow in her parents' footsteps knowing the personal risks? Her secret legacy may offer the only chance to set things right, deal with her anger, and discover who she really is.

Recommended for age 16 and up.

Learn more about this book on the author's website
http://bonnieferrante.ca/

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 2011

About the author

Bonnie Ferrante is a hybrid writer (publishing traditionally and self-publishing). She was a grade school teacher for thirty-three years, ten as teacher-librarian. She has received three OAC grants for her writing. She has recently entered the field of self-publishing and is greatly enjoying illustrating her own picture books although this becomes more difficult as her Parkinson's Disease progresses.
Bonnie also has a Youtube site.
"Welcome parents, teachers, and kids to my safe youtube site. Kids can listen to a book being read or a story being told, learn about words and numbers, and sing along. Adults can watch a book trailer and find new ways to teach your children using inexpensive materials, active learning, and the outdoors."

Reviews

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read, the second in the Dawn's End series. This time following Nicole's daughter into the fantasy world.

There is adventure and magic, love, loss and betrayal, where finely detailed characters battle for their futures. There are also lessons to be learned such as how to deal with grief and anger and the importance of forgiveness.

I don't give spoilers so I cannot say too much but for those who enjoy fantasy, this continuing tale is for you.

[K.A. Krisko · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Poisoned’ is a YA fantasy featuring an independent, athletic 16-year-old girl who unwittingly falls into a parallel world rife with danger, adventure, and romance. Anastacia is well-drawn as a self-sufficient and sometimes precocious teen who has had to deal with many traumas in life, who learns how to cope over the course of the book. Her traveling companions are somewhat less complex, but the villains are unique and disgusting as well as evil. You want them to come to a bad end as Anastacia begins to discover the meaning of the bracelet left to her by her mother and her father’s secret identity.

I’m probably not the target audience for this book, as I’m not a teen, and despite a very promising beginning, I did end up having some issues with it. I never felt a sense of urgency, nor did I understand why things had gone wrong in Dawn’s End. It all seemed very hazy, either not fully realized in the author’s mind or not sharply drawn. One just has to accept that the characters accept the situation and are prepared to charge full-speed ahead into danger to defeat the enemy, with ever-growing magic powers. While there’s plenty of tragedy, I just couldn’t muster up the emotion to go with it. I never did understand why or how this parallel world existed, how it came to be, how come people in our world don’t know about it, why people pass back and forth, or specifically why it went bad in the first place. It seemed to see-saw, especially at the end, between fantasy and semi-eroticism, which I found a bit too explicit given the tone of the rest of the book. I did appreciate Anastacia’s growth and realizations.

If the above sounds a bit too unspecific for a review, it’s because I’m struggling to identify exactly what left me lukewarm. There were occasions in the book when the descriptions were lyrical and humorous. The author has a great imagination, but it’s a loosely-woven story, perhaps because the alternate world has not been solidly crafted. I can see future adventures in the world being interesting if it’s a little more specifically drawn.

[TC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I hadn't read the first book in this series (Dawn's End) it sounded like this YA fantasy novel would stand well on its own. After her mother's death Anastacia travels abroad for a family wedding but stumbles into another world where she finds that she has grown up believing lies. There is a good reason that she has no photos of her father or a birth certificate. Dawn's End was a place of idyll but has been corrupted by negative influences from our world. Anastacia is seen by a small band determined to fight the dark powers as a saviour but can she harness her natural powers?

YA fantasy is right on the edge of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed the read. Anastacia is a mix of kick-ass 16 year old and innocent, grieving young woman. In Dawn's End she teams up with an assortment of characters and encounters creatures she wouldn't have imagined could be real. Watching her find her feet was interesting, even if at times I found her a little bit irritating (maybe because I'm closer to her mum's age than hers) I quite liked the development of the history behind the peoples of Dawn's End and felt that enough was revealed for this book to work well without having read the other book first.

As far as the writing goes I found it a well paced easy read but wasn't entirely sure what age range the books are targeted at. There is some content of a sexual nature and some violence but the way it is written made it feel more suited to a younger audience for whom the content might not be appropriate. There are some positive messages to take away from the story without it feeling preachy which is no bad thing.

The ending didn't work perfectly for me, just before the end it moved the focus away from Anastacia before moving back to her and ending a bit too abruptly, but it certainly sets up well for the next book in the series.

[Philip J McQuillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anastasia is the daughter of Nicole Newman. Nicole is on death's doorstep and decides to give a magical bracelet to Anastasia before she passes. There are other children, but she chooses the more athletic and decisive Anastasia to fulfill a mission in another world called Dawn’s End. Anastasia is unaware what the bracelet portends, and she is just sixteen years old. With no clear understanding of her own origins, Anastasia isn't prepared for what lies ahead — epic battles in a fiend-filled world complete with humans, half humans and mighty beasts. Who she is in both worlds is about to be revealed to her through the magical bracelet; the mission that she "falls into" will consume her every waking moment and be revealed only by living it — you are what you do!

Anastasia's parents are a bit of a mystery, even to her. So is her birth it turns out. These and other questions tantalize our imagination initially. How was this other world created and by whom? Why do some of the inhabitants want to destroy it? — “Kaie checked the potion and smiled. It was ready. Perhaps she should test it? No, it would give too much away to have people beating at the exits to the outer world. She did not want anyone to know what was to come until the day of destruction” — and why are people from Earth responsible for saving it? Is this other world real or completely imaginary? The story answers some of these questions, but in the end, the unanswered questions were vexing to me. Also, I didn't quite understand why the other world would poison a visitor to it, or the ethics of sending someone there without their consent, totally unaware of what might happen to them.