Gr. 5^-7. In Amaranth, life is very structured: people live in color-coded rings around the city--white for best, gray for the gritty outer circle--and tests rule all. When two-year-old Pinpin fails her first test, her older sister, Kestrel, snaps and is banished to the bottom of her class, even below the hated Mumpo. In a wild scene, Kestrel escapes, and with her twin brother, Bowman, and a map goes on a quest for the voice of the Wind Singer, an odd sculpture in the middle of Amaranth that has long been silent. (Its voice, shaped like a silver key, is pictured on Kestrel's map.) It is escape Kess and Bo are after, even when the hapless Mumpo joins them, but it's the Wind Singer that drives them. There's not much imagination or depth in the heavy-handed portrayal of caste systems, warrior tribes, and smarmy villains. But the background is well delineated, as are the fabulous battles, including one in which the children are aided by wolves and eagles. Mumpo provides comic relief and gives Kess and Bo the opportunity to reexamine their assumptions. A thrilling denouement leaves the way clear for the rest of the saga. Peter Sis' illustrations were not available in galley. GraceAnne A. DeCandido

PW called The Wind Singer a "highly imaginative debut YA novel" in the trilogy that follows twins Kestrel and Bowman through the dystopian city of Aramanth, and their separation and eventual reunion after the city is destroyed. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

After Kestrel's rebellious behavior lands her family in trouble, she and her twin brother, accompanied by a classmate, escape their strictly regimented city and set off to find the voice of the wind singer--a statue that used to sing but now stands silent. Plot elements don't always fit logically within the framework of the story, but the cinematic scale of the fantasy will keep readers interested. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 5-8-A prominent producer/director/ scriptwriter ventures into epic-or at least epic length-fantasy with this tale of three children out to save the regimented residents of their walled city. Over generations since the small silver "voice" of a mysterious aeolian pipe organ known as the wind singer was meekly surrendered to the Morah, a menacing spirit-lord, Aramanth has become enslaved by a relentless ethic of academic self-improvement, enforced by color-coded social strata and regular, supervised, written examinations. When the misfit Hath family draws the eye, and ire, of the Chief Examiner, twins Kestrel and Bowman set out to reclaim the wind singer's voice, accompanied by a despised, simpleminded classmate. After an episodic series of encounters-including hordes of giant eagles and wolves, and finally with the Zar, an army of murderous zombies that marches at the Morah's behest-the three do give the wind singer back its ethereal voice, whereupon the pursuing Zar all die and the citizens of Aramanth spontaneously throw off their oppressive urge to excel. Nicholson throws a satiric light onto his various societies, gives his young protagonists intriguing capabilities, and concocts genuinely bone-chilling supernatural menaces. However, rescue (usually of a contrived sort) is always so conveniently close at hand that the children never fall into convincing peril, and subplots seem to exist for the sole purpose of giving their parents something to do. Still, despite being the first of a projected trilogy, the story stands alone, and fans of such barbed journey tales as Tanith Lee's Wolf Tower (Dutton, 2000) will enjoy the social commentary.-John Peters, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.