The Shattering

Guardians of Ga'Hoole #5

by Kathryn Lasky

In the fifth book in this series, the war between an evil group led by Soren's brother, Kludd, and the owls of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree rages on.In the midst of war, Eglantine unwittingly becomes a spy for Kludd, leader of the Pure Ones (a group of evil owls). She is brainwashed by an owl sent by the Pure Ones to infiltrate the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Her odd behavior eventually attracts attention, and Soren and his friends vow to find out what's wrong with Eglantine. They ultimately learn what happened and help her reverse the effects of the brainwashing. Kludd continues to battle against the Guardians of Ga'Hoole for control of their tree. In the end, Kludd and his forces are defeated. But his conflict with Soren is not yet over.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Adventure

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Mr. Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shattering is the cleverly crafted fifth book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. The title refers to the mind of owls who are subjected to the mind-controlling flecks used as weapons by the pure ones. It is a story that brings to the forefront advanced warfare that is waged not on the body, but within the minds of unsuspecting young victims.
The numerous references to shattering with terms such as slivers, shards, splitting, fragmented, piece by piece, and division weave a disturbing theme through a thought provoking tale. There is an eerie foreshadowing in the previous book when Dewlap, the traitor who betrayed Ga'Hoole to the Pure Ones, bans and eventually destroys a seemingly insignificant book. We learn later that the very knowledge in this book is the key to the brutal mind shattering used by the Pure Ones to serve their purposes. The book is torn, tattered, and scattered to the four winds like so many broken shards of Eglantine's mind. It commences when Eglantine herself drops and shatters the egg that is the symbolic hope for the future of the Pure Ones. In the end the story gets back to Dewlap, who suffers something worse than a shattered mind: a broken spirit.
In the grand theme of good vs. evil, there is a great contrast between Eglantine and Nyra concerning the egg. Nyra wants to protect the egg out of selfishness and the power it could bring her. Eglantine strives to protect it for the sanctity of life. While there comes a time when Nyra forgets about the egg for self-preservation, Eglantine is willing to die to save the egg. When Nyra discovers the shattered egg, her response is not sadness and mourning, but rage and vengeance.
Another great discussion is brought about by the egg. Will the offspring of two evil parents, Kludd and Nyra, be born evil? Could it ever have a chance at a decent life? It prompts the question of how Kludd and Soren could have been born to the same parents. What about all of the nuances of good and evil that are in us all?
The argument for a free society is made by the author in chapter 21. She brings up the question of how much respect the leaders of a tyranny really have from their inferiors. They fight because they fear their leaders, while in the free society, the citizens fight for what the feel is worth fighting for. She goes on to note the “fruits of an open free-thinking society.”
While the free-thinking society can create so much, Ezylryb is bothered by the new weapons used by the Chaw of Chaws. In fact, he is bothered by warfare altogether, and the direction the Owl World is going. Soren shares Ezylryb's feelings, though he doesn't really understand it yet. He is becoming more and more like his mentor, and one day he will be the old, battle-beaten owl who spends his older years wishing there was a better way than war to solve the problems of owlkind.
The Shattering was a fantastic book, and the first great book of this series. It asked tough questions, had great thought-provoking issues, and resolved some of the lingering plotlines, while creating new ones to leave the reader wanting more. It's all building for a great war between the Owls of Ga'Hoole and the Pure Ones with all the flecks in St. Aggies. What kind of warfare will come out of such a clash?

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book can not purely be carried by the characters alone.
I feel like a broken record. I LIKE the characters in this series. I feel they are intriging and draw me in. Maybe that is why I am so frustrated about the lack of truley developing the story in logical ways. This book has finally given me a solid example.

I am supposed to believe all through this book so far that the Guardians are this smart, honest brave defend of good kind of group. They are the wisest of the wise....

Then why oh why am I also supposed to believe that they are DUMB enough to put a fresh Prisoner of WAR they only JUST captured in the last book in with their young charges with total freedom and no supervision. This kind of "convient" plot line that ends up driving the whole story I find insulting. This book was VERY predicatble. Primrose did have a great character development and I was happy to see this kind of growth beyond the band.

I also am really starting to feel like I an watching the smurfs or Strawberry shortckake. You know things cant be Very delicious. They are Berry berrytastic. Or I think it is so smurfy of you to have such a smurftastics smurfy idea!! IT detracts from the story when the author constantly has to overdefine the made up language, explatives, and ideas... THis is frustrating when I feel more energy could have been spent on other finishing details.

[hare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, how I missed these books! I've read the first four over 3 years ago, but no recap was needed. The Shattering is a good follow-up, can't wait to read the next one in the series!

And what a gorgeous cover...

[Emily Bedford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are really heating up, in this latest installment we finally follow Eglentine and her growth among the tree. The intricacies of the Pure Ones manipulation continue to come together in a frightening display of brainwashing and manipulation. We get to see Soren's original band grow as more Owls find their talons and find solace with Sorens command.

I look forward to seeing how Soren and Eglentine work together to defeat their brother and restore peace.

[Mijo Stumpf · Rating 3 out of 5]

what a moody moody day for the owls of ga’hoole. 10 more to go! 66.666666% more owl to enjoy!

[Briana Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason one of the stars are missing is because it was a bit slow at the beginning. Eglantine wasn't herself. Primrose felt ditched when Ginger became friends with the owl. But the REAL rating I'd give is a 4.5. It was full of action and strategy. The dreams and the 'mother'. It was all a big mysterious puzzle piece which made you want to keep reading. I finished the book within a few hours, not non-stop, but if I had the chance I would read it non-stop. The ending is filled with pure suspense and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

[AziaMinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating : B

"How fragile life is...how fragile everything is, including friendship."

[Megan Bering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay like...reading these books as a twelve-year-old, I’m not sure I really absorbed the EXTREMELY HORRIFIC IMPLICATIONS of all the mind control stuff in these books. As an adult, holy Christ, this is upsetting

Also I know they don’t do cross-species romance but I think Eglantine and Primrose are lesbians

[Camie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voted best book of the series by the grandkids grades 5-7. We just have time to read book 6 before they start online classes.
It’s been a very fun summer of remote reading. We’ve logged over 1200 pages and had many book chats.

[Catarí · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estuvo menos impactante que el resto :( Eglantine, te odio, pajarraco tonto

[Rohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. It has an intriguing set of characters - I love the way they really developed. This is the only book in the series I will probably write a review for : I think it's not as great as the others. The book would have been a lot better if there was more vividly described scenes and some more difficult vocabulary. Also, this plot was really predictable and just showed how foolish evil can be. The truth is, however, they can't! This conflict - brainwashed minds in the Tree- cannot have happened, as the characters are really not that careless. There's a reason they are the "wisest of the wise!" So a good book - if you can bear to read through a forced conflict. The series though

[Cassandra Hamm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one that has stuck with me all these years. I couldn’t even remember exactly what happened, just that an owl was “shattered,” aka she basically had her mind destroyed. For some reason it has always been fascinating to me. Is that morbid? XD

Seriously though, I adore this series. And this particular installment especially holds up to my childhood love for it.

[Alex]

‘In truth [she] didn’t even know what happy was anymore, just as she didn’t know what sad was. She should be sad... but it was just too much trouble, too much energy to feel anything. ... the oddness of it all struck her now...’

[Logan Chaput · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely incredible just like the others. Just the concept of "Shattering" is brilliant. One of the things I like about this book is that it tells us a lot more about Soren's sister Egglantine. would definitely recommend this book to others to read.

[Amanda Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series, but it sets up the next book in the series nicely!

[fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read these since like, 5th grade, and it's so much more than satisfying.

[cookies_for_pookies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot better than some of the others in the series, it was really interesting!
Also at one point it just became the movie Coraline but with owls and i enjoyed that.

[Mikey Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tale, but the story felt out of place. Only about one new thing added to the overall plot, and even then it fell a bit from the other. Pretty dark though!

[Pidge]

3 hours babeyyy

[Kryptomite · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very narrow in its focus, and provides a sharp story for the reader to delve into. Because these books are short, this one benefitted in particular to the fact that it largely only followed a pair of owls, while also setting up Soren for the next book in the series.

[Ritika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Hannah Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book that isn't from Soren's POV, it is instead from his sister, Eglantine's POV. And it's an interesting POV to have. We get to see how Eglantine feels at the Ga'Hoole Tree, and what kind of owl she is.

Definitely worth reading.

[Sarvenaz Lari · Rating 4 out of 5]

نه که بگم دوسش نداشتم🌝 مگه میشه یه چیزی گاهول باشه و من دوسش نداشته باشم؟!
ولی نسبت به جلد چهارم یه درجه پایین تر بود برام و مخصوصا اگلانتین که از میزان حماقتش تمام موهای سرم ریخت تو طول داستان.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, which I'm reading aloud to my younger daughter.

When Ginger (a Barn Owl raised by the Pure Ones and part of the attack on the Great Ga'Hoole Tree during The Siege, who was taken in by the Guardians because she was injured) becomes Eglantine's newest roommate, she begins to change. She sleeps more, and Ginger is always whispering into her ear about how she's always being left out. Ginger is trying to isolate Eglantine from the others, and Primrose is suspicious. Eglantine won't hear of it from anyone, because she trusts her new friend.

I thought the last one was my favourite, but this one is my new favourite! The story moved along at a good pace, and I enjoyed the focus on Eglantine. It always makes for a more interesting story when there is deception involved, especially when the reader can clearly see what is going on but the character involved is blind to it.

We are continuing on with the fifth book in the series, The Burning.

This review was posted on my book blog:
https://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com...

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shattering is the shortest book in the series thus far. It is easy to read it quickly, but I would advise slowing down if you want to grasp the deeper concepts. These are beautiful books for children as they are fun to read at a surface level. As an adult, I am rereading this series and am rediscovering why I loved it so much as a child. Lasky pairs silly words and poems with serious questions about dignity and worth.

Other ideas expressed continue themes of brainwashing and hypnosis. Positive and negative connotations and dennotations of the word 'pure' and how they are used by different groups. The use of lies to hold others captive. What is the measure of a true friend. What makes a soldier: discipline or wit?

One of my favorite things about Lasky's world building is how no named character is left as an unwoven thread. For example, Eglantine, the younger sister of the protagonist Soren. She has played third wheel to the Band and the Chaw of Chaws for some time now. It is in this book that her story arc becomes front and center. The reader is given a closer look into her point of view than previous books.

As a final note, I have enjoyed seeing the difference between book and movie Digger, a young burrowing owl. In the movie, he is made out to be the "owl version of Dory" to quote my father. He cracks jokes and makes puns to make all fathers proud. In the books, Digger is a thoughtful owl. He watches and gathers information, which is always crucial to the plot. He notices when other owls are exhibiting strange behavior and is often a voice of reason. I think it is safe to say that he would be confused by his portrayal in the movie, as hilarious as it is.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Shattering as always been, in my eyes, the weakest of the first six Ga’Hoole books. I’ve always viewed reading it with a sort of dread, or exasperation. The tale of Soren’s sister and the trials she faces in this book just never piqued my interest.

Perhaps it’s the cheesiness of the dialogue and some of the scenes. These books have never been the best in terms of writing, but this book has too many moments where things felt too clunky, or too amateur, or something. It’s especially noticeable when Primrose is worried about her friendship with Eglantine, and during the mealtimes.

Important things do happen in this book, but they seem almost unimportant. There is quite big news concerning Nyra, foreshadowing books 7 & 8, and the big reveal at the end is appropriate menacing, but everything feels like such a throwaway, filler meant to take up a book.

In addition, even the plight Eglantine finds herself in feels weak. Things happen far too quickly, and Eglantine overcomes obstacles too quickly. Despite the threat of shattering, Eglantine seems more like a gullible kid than a victim of a devious plot. There is simply too much that wasn’t done in order to make things move smoothly and make the threat more menacing.

While moving the plot along in some directions, The Shattering mostly stalls, creating a threadbare plot that relies on cheesy dialogue and undeveloped characterization. Eglantine is more of an annoyance than a hero in the book, which is a shame since it’s so heavily focused on her. It’s a step in the wrong direction for Lasky and the Ga’Hoole books.

[Berke Sahbazoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The shattering continues the story of the guardians from a different perspective: Egglantine. This book focuses on how she views her life and her unresolved issues regarding her lost/dead parents. She befriends another seemingly friendly but actually duplicitous and exploitative barn owl named Ginger.

Egglantine starts to have dreams about her mother and she is compelled to revisit her. She and Ginger set off to find her. At first everything seems to be to good however this is short lived. What she perceived as her mother ends up to be Nyra. We later learn that she has been shattered(an illness that makes the person enter a trance-lie state of paralysis). she fights to regain full control of her mind and succeeds. She later steals Nyra's egg but she is forced to drop it in order to escape.

This book adds a new viewpoint that I really enjoyed. Here we see that there are some times when a person must risk their lives to rescue the innocent from a terrible future(Nyra's child) and fight for something much more critical and important than themselves. We also witness true friendship. Egglantine's closest friend, Primrose, despite the horrible and inexcusable way she was treated believes that her friend was deeply disturbed. she fought for her friend and almost died. Sometimes we do not appreciate our friends concerns and retaliate when they reprimand us for seemingly trivial matters. However we should always listen to each other, especially those who are close to us.

[Parish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the worst book in the series so far. I nearly skipped over it, but I knew I'd be lost in the next book if I did. The book did get better halfway through, but the first half of the book was nearly unbearable.

The plot centers around Eglantine and her new "friend," Ginger, who was taken as a prisoner of war after the Pure Ones' siege and then decided she "preferred life in the Ga'Hoole tree." Now, if the decision to welcome her in was made by Soren and friends, then sure. They're young, naïve kids. But the Ga'Hoole tree is ruled over by grown ass adults who should know better.

I don't even consider this a spoiler because of how glaringly obvious from the very beginning it is that this owl is a manipulator. And if anyone had been even a tiny bit wary of her like they should be of an owl who LITERALLY TRIED TO KILL THEM AND TAKE OVER THE TREE IN THE NAME OF A RELIGIOUS CULT, they would have seen that right away.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the Ga'Hoole books so far, slightly edging out the first one. Eglantine is under a strange spell - created by too much exposure to the troublesome flecks, and begins making regular visits to the evil Nyra, who is posing as her mother. Eventually her friend Primrose helps free her. As she flees, Eglantine tries desperately to steal away the prized egg containing the offspring of Nyla and Kludd, but she's unsuccessful and the egg is destroyed. (It would have been an interesting plot twist had the egg survived, to see how the offspring of the two evil owls turned out.) Eglantine's inner struggles are what make this book stand out in the series.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very interesting to see Eglantine grow. She is only a few months (if that) younger than Soren, but up until The Shattering, I always saw her as more of a child while the Band were more like young adults. The books are, if they continue in this way, growing in audience appeal. There isn't any more repeating of information we already know (occasionally, but more tastefully done) and there are more action-events, and thought-provoking events happening. I am amazed at the higher-level thinking going on with the Flekasia, Shattering, Gizzuition, and even the Starsight. I believe I appreciate the series more as an adult than I did in middle school.