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The Broken Thread
Destroying a deadly prince, in a violent court far from her home, was not what Alina expected when she was chosen to serve on the Isle of the Weavers. Fifteen-year-old Alina comes from a long line of women who have gone to serve on the Isle of the Weavers. One day, the weavers come and take her there, where the destiny of the world is born. Alina struggles with her trademark impatience during the training to prepare her to be a weaver. Alina finally gets her first glimpse of the awesome tapestry, with its multitude of threads, and colours, and shifting patterns. When she impulsively repairs a broken thread, thousands of other threads in the tapestry snap. What has she done? By reconnecting a thread that was meant to be broken, she has caused the end of thousands of others. She must undo what she has done and so is transported to a faraway land, complete unlike her own beloved isles. There she encounters a people equally different from her own. But she learns that there are basic human similarities ― love, fear, jealousy, goodness ― wherever you go. And she also learns there is more than one way to change a person's fate. Linda Smith published the Tales of Three Lands trilogy with The Minstrel's Daughter , Talisa's Song , and The Weathermage , as well as other fantasy titles. She also published several children's pictures books, poetry and short fiction in literary periodicals.
248 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Linda Smith
9 books6 followersBorn in Lethbridge, Alberta, on April 12, 1949, Linda grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She obtained a B.A. with Distinction from the University of Calgary in 1968, and then a Bachelor of Library Science degree from the University of Alberta in 1970. She worked as a children's librarian in Truro, Nova Scotia and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she was also manager of the Carlyle King Branch of Saskatoon Public Library. From 1982-1984 she pursued a Master's Degree in Children's Literature from Simmons College in Boston, and it was there that she took a writing for children course from Nancy Bond.
Returning to Canada she became children's librarian at Grande Prairie Public Library in northern Alberta, and also began writing. Her first book Windshifter was published in 1995. She wrote primarily for children and young adults, and her books benefited from her years of experience as a children's librarian and her love of children's literature. She published two linked fantasy trilogies aimed at upper elementary and junior high readers, The Freyan Trilogy, and The Tales of Three Lands Trilogy, and wrote two books for younger readers: a picture book, Sir Cassie to the Rescue, and a beginning chapter book called Kelly's Cabin.
In 2008 Coteau Press posthumously published another young adult novel The Broken Thread, which in 2010 won the Alberta Literary Award for children's literature. In addition, several of her short stories were published in magazines such as On Spec, or read on CBC Radio's Alberta Anthology program.
Returning to Canada she became children's librarian at Grande Prairie Public Library in northern Alberta, and also began writing. Her first book Windshifter was published in 1995. She wrote primarily for children and young adults, and her books benefited from her years of experience as a children's librarian and her love of children's literature. She published two linked fantasy trilogies aimed at upper elementary and junior high readers, The Freyan Trilogy, and The Tales of Three Lands Trilogy, and wrote two books for younger readers: a picture book, Sir Cassie to the Rescue, and a beginning chapter book called Kelly's Cabin.
In 2008 Coteau Press posthumously published another young adult novel The Broken Thread, which in 2010 won the Alberta Literary Award for children's literature. In addition, several of her short stories were published in magazines such as On Spec, or read on CBC Radio's Alberta Anthology program.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 17, 2015
I really loved using the mode of tapestry as the backdrop of the world in The Broken Thread. At first I was frustrated at the character, that she could see no other answer than one way to fix things. But the character development in this book is really great. Characters change and grow, even the minor ones, and I ended up loving them all. It's a great little story here, woven with words. I was glad to have chosen this for my first readathon book.
May 4, 2024
I wanted to read a novel, so I reread this. I love how important sibling-type relationships are in this book. It's a story about stories, and I always love that, too.
November 12, 2008
A final fantasy now from a deceased friend. This book was a beautiful and powerful story about how one person can affect others and change history. It was easy to picture, a quick read and a great story that really embraced the principles and vision of the author.
July 11, 2017
I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading this, at first, but it sucked me in. Even though I could see where it was going, I had to keep on and it was definitely worth it. Sad to read that it was a posthumous publication.
October 12, 2009
The Broken Thread felt like a few other books I've read, and at the same time, felt entirely like itself. There is a definite Graceling (Kristin Cashore) tone, but with the theme of burgeoning love opened up to include love for a cobbled-together family (although there is also romantic interest). And it also reminded me of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay, with a significantly smaller cast of characters, but the same scope when it comes to exploring universal values like love and goodness.
The book opens with a dialogue between Alina and her younger brother, Eric. Alina is daydreaming about the Isle of Weaving, the most sacred and mysterious place in their world where fates are woven and determined. Although Alina admits she really has no idea what that means for the individual. Eric, who is petulant that Alina would want to leave him, questions her about the island and what it means to serve the tapestry, the center of the world. Alina is impatient for the Ambassadors of the Isle to visit her and bring her back with them; a tradition that has happened to the women in her family for generations. Except to her mother and her sister who chose the life of wives and mothers, to Alina's confusion. She only knows that she wants to do something important and the Isle is the most important place she knows.
Two ladies pick her up pretty quickly into the book and she spends a few weeks on the Isle of Weaving in meditation and performing the chores of a hopeful weaver; dyeing and sorting threads, kitchenwork, etc. Alina is living like a nun in a convent, and still hasn't even seen the great tapestry. At this point in the book I was thinking *wow, that would be peaceful but super boring*, and then:
The routine was comfortable, the labour less hard than farm chores and household tasks at home. But the excitement of anticipation, the joy of arrival, lay in the past. Now was the present, and the present was...well, boring.
Read the rest on my blog: http://eoseventeen.blogspot.com/2009/...
The book opens with a dialogue between Alina and her younger brother, Eric. Alina is daydreaming about the Isle of Weaving, the most sacred and mysterious place in their world where fates are woven and determined. Although Alina admits she really has no idea what that means for the individual. Eric, who is petulant that Alina would want to leave him, questions her about the island and what it means to serve the tapestry, the center of the world. Alina is impatient for the Ambassadors of the Isle to visit her and bring her back with them; a tradition that has happened to the women in her family for generations. Except to her mother and her sister who chose the life of wives and mothers, to Alina's confusion. She only knows that she wants to do something important and the Isle is the most important place she knows.
Two ladies pick her up pretty quickly into the book and she spends a few weeks on the Isle of Weaving in meditation and performing the chores of a hopeful weaver; dyeing and sorting threads, kitchenwork, etc. Alina is living like a nun in a convent, and still hasn't even seen the great tapestry. At this point in the book I was thinking *wow, that would be peaceful but super boring*, and then:
The routine was comfortable, the labour less hard than farm chores and household tasks at home. But the excitement of anticipation, the joy of arrival, lay in the past. Now was the present, and the present was...well, boring.
Read the rest on my blog: http://eoseventeen.blogspot.com/2009/...
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April 8, 2013Alina has dreamt her whole life of journeying to the Isle of Weaving and joining those who help create the great tapestry that tells the fate of the world and everyone in it. When her wish becomes a reality, she unthinkingly repairs a broken red thread with a lock of her hair, and causes a terrible disaster. Now she must find a way to set things right by traveling to the land of Kazia and undoing what she has set in motion. Based on the premise that each individual life on earth is represented by a thread in a tapestry, a broken thread represents a life cut short. By repairing a single thread, Alina extends that life, but also causes the death of thousands of others in wars instigated by the person she saved. Broken Thread is a beautifully told multi-layered story. The characters are well developed and complex, and the author raises some interesting questions about our own ability to change what fate has laid out for us. When Alina is sent back to Kazia to make sure the prince she saved does not survive, it seems like a simple task. Finding herself inadvertently placed as a guard/babysitter to the prince, she believes that finding the opportunity to kill him will be easy. As she spends time around the young prince, she comes to an important realization. Beneath his spoiled, and sometimes cruel, exterior is a frightened and lonely little boy who has seen abandonment and betrayal by those closest to him. For Alina, this creates an internal struggle between accomplishing her mission, and her growing fondness for the prince and for the young soldier also assigned as the prince’s guard. With a touch of romance and a richly told story, young teen fans of strong girl fantasy will find themselves glued to this hard-to-put-down novel.
Reviewed by Rachel Steen in Canadian Children's Book News
Spring 2009 VOL.32 NO.2
Reviewed by Rachel Steen in Canadian Children's Book News
Spring 2009 VOL.32 NO.2
August 12, 2016
I picked up this book because of the author, Linda Smith since I really enjoyed her book 'The Minstrel's Daughter'. The cover that emphasized the importance of a broken thread also piqued my interest.
The beginning was a slow starter and I almost abandoned the book because it didn't seem like my cup of tea. However, as I went further into the story, I actually got thoroughly engrossed in the characters' relationships and what the outcome would be. Below is a summary:
*HERE THERE BE SPOILERS*
Alina is a girl from a family that has contributed a female descendant to the Isle for every generation where they would learn how to weave the Tapestry of life. Alina decides to go rather than refuse, which is what her mother had done. When she arrives at the Isle it's a very different lifestyle compared to her old one because she doesn't have her family or familiar routines, but she adapts quite quickly. One day, she connects a broken thread that had caught her attention, resulting in thousands of other threads snapping at the same time. This represents the death of many people at the expense of one. She is responsible for this mess and must fix it by traveling to the place where the owner of the thread resides and she must right her wrongs by killing the owner.
Upon reaching her destination, she saves the prince of a country from a assassination attempt, who is coincidentally the owner of the thread. As she stays by the prince's side plotting how to kill him surreptitiously, she grows affection for the small prince and his guard.
The beginning was a slow starter and I almost abandoned the book because it didn't seem like my cup of tea. However, as I went further into the story, I actually got thoroughly engrossed in the characters' relationships and what the outcome would be. Below is a summary:
*HERE THERE BE SPOILERS*
Alina is a girl from a family that has contributed a female descendant to the Isle for every generation where they would learn how to weave the Tapestry of life. Alina decides to go rather than refuse, which is what her mother had done. When she arrives at the Isle it's a very different lifestyle compared to her old one because she doesn't have her family or familiar routines, but she adapts quite quickly. One day, she connects a broken thread that had caught her attention, resulting in thousands of other threads snapping at the same time. This represents the death of many people at the expense of one. She is responsible for this mess and must fix it by traveling to the place where the owner of the thread resides and she must right her wrongs by killing the owner.
Upon reaching her destination, she saves the prince of a country from a assassination attempt, who is coincidentally the owner of the thread. As she stays by the prince's side plotting how to kill him surreptitiously, she grows affection for the small prince and his guard.
February 14, 2014
This book is fairly cliché and predictable, but I still love it.
Linda Smith has imagined a vivid fantasy world filled with old clichés, yet it is surprisingly well-built. IT is basically feudal Europe, but the main character, Alina, is from a different place where there are no kings or lords. When she is sent to right the wrong she committed on the Isle of Weaving, she must navigate the unfamiliar and tricky customs of the court of King Berash, while looking after the kid she was sent to kill: Prince Ranjan.
Alina is a very good main character and is conflicted between killing Ranjan and saving thousands of people. She is also confused about her growing feelings for Daris and his growing feelings for her at the end of the novel. The ten-year-old Prince Ranjan is the kind of brat you would expect but he undergoes huge changes as Daris and Alina treat him like any other ten-year-old.
The plot is well-paced, but not exactly fast. It is fairly predictable, but there are occasional surprises, especially near the end. However, this is a book you read for the characters and the well-built world, not for the plot.
I give this book 4/5 stars
Linda Smith has imagined a vivid fantasy world filled with old clichés, yet it is surprisingly well-built. IT is basically feudal Europe, but the main character, Alina, is from a different place where there are no kings or lords. When she is sent to right the wrong she committed on the Isle of Weaving, she must navigate the unfamiliar and tricky customs of the court of King Berash, while looking after the kid she was sent to kill: Prince Ranjan.
Alina is a very good main character and is conflicted between killing Ranjan and saving thousands of people. She is also confused about her growing feelings for Daris and his growing feelings for her at the end of the novel. The ten-year-old Prince Ranjan is the kind of brat you would expect but he undergoes huge changes as Daris and Alina treat him like any other ten-year-old.
The plot is well-paced, but not exactly fast. It is fairly predictable, but there are occasional surprises, especially near the end. However, this is a book you read for the characters and the well-built world, not for the plot.
I give this book 4/5 stars
May 22, 2014
The book The Broken Thread is a standard fantasy book with many interesting points. Yet it was still able to catch my at tension with its large amount of details. The author Linda Smith has a way with creating interesting plots and worlds.
The plot of this book is that a 15 year old girl named Alina is from a family of women who have always had a girl travel to the Isle of Weaving where the girls help in the process of making the Tapestry of Life which depicts every life that has been in existence as a thread. All goes wrong when this girl sees a broken thread and tries to bind it with a strand of her hair. Then suddenly thousands of strands start to snap and break. Then she is sent to another land to fix the strands by killing this prince so he does not grow up to be a murderer of thousands of people.
It ends with excellent twist that many May or may not be expecting. I say that it was an excellent read that was very well worth the time it took to read.
The plot of this book is that a 15 year old girl named Alina is from a family of women who have always had a girl travel to the Isle of Weaving where the girls help in the process of making the Tapestry of Life which depicts every life that has been in existence as a thread. All goes wrong when this girl sees a broken thread and tries to bind it with a strand of her hair. Then suddenly thousands of strands start to snap and break. Then she is sent to another land to fix the strands by killing this prince so he does not grow up to be a murderer of thousands of people.
It ends with excellent twist that many May or may not be expecting. I say that it was an excellent read that was very well worth the time it took to read.
January 22, 2015
This book was incredibly fast paced and didn't have the strongest hook. I can kind of see why Alina decided to go back, but for me, I might've wanted more time to think that part out. Wanting to go back might've been a fleeting thought, and she'd never see her family again. But anyways, when it finally got interesting, it was a good read. I like how Ranjan turned from a spoiled boy to a kinder one, Daris was always sweet and Alina is witty with good intentions. It was captivating from the middle to the end. There are still a few plot holes though; maybe the author intended to write more, but sadly she has passed away. So if you'd like to get creative, then I suppose you'll have to come to some conclusions for yourself. If you have the patience (haha) and can adapt easily to quick changes, I certainly recommend this book. :)
December 16, 2008
This book is written by Linda Smith 1949-2007.
Her novels include: The Freyan Trilogy –- Wind Shifter (1995); Sea Change (1999); and Turning Time (2001). Children’s books include Sir Cassie to the Rescue (2003); and Kelly’s Cabin (2006); and the popular The Tales of Three Lands Trilogy – The Minstrel’s Daughter (2004), Talisa’s Song (2005) and Weathermage (2006).
Her novels include: The Freyan Trilogy –- Wind Shifter (1995); Sea Change (1999); and Turning Time (2001). Children’s books include Sir Cassie to the Rescue (2003); and Kelly’s Cabin (2006); and the popular The Tales of Three Lands Trilogy – The Minstrel’s Daughter (2004), Talisa’s Song (2005) and Weathermage (2006).
December 15, 2015
YA fantasy usually isn't my genre, but I saw this sitting on a book giveaway cart and picked it up out of curiosity. It turned out to be really good! It was kind of simple, but it was a fun read with good characters, and most of all, it was emotionally satisfying. I genuinely wanted Ranjan to become a good person. I wish we'd seen more of Gabrielle, but other than that, a good read. :)
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August 4, 2009I jsut could not get itno this book so I am not giving it a rating becasue it ight just not have grabbed me right now. My first impressions were a typical quest fantasy, with a strong female characters set in a cold, sea coast, think Ireland.
October 15, 2009
It wasn't good enough--too predictable and slightly convenient--for me to keep going. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but I don't have enough time, and I didn't hate it or love it enough to keep going.
I need to try again sometime when I'm not so busy.
I need to try again sometime when I'm not so busy.
September 25, 2010
Awesome! This old time fantasy is my kind of book!
December 16, 2010
I'm reading it for my Grade 9s... so far it's... ok. Neat idea but simple and repetitive. I like Daris though!
January 23, 2012
This is an epic fantasy novel. I loved reading it because it was very descriptive and I loved the ending because it was different.
September 3, 2012
Not as ominous as the title makes it out to be, but still VERY VERY good!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews