by M. E. Breen
ages: 10 to 14
First sentence: “The sun sets so quickly in Howland that the people who live there have no word for evening.”
Review copy sent to me by the publisher.
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Hmmm. This book has an interesting premise: an orphan girl, Annie, is sold by her “Uncle” to the Drop, the mine where all the kingdom’s jewelstones are mined. Except, Annie — who has learned that she can see in the dark — gets away. She makes her way to the main city, gets into the palace, and begins to discover that the fact that the Drop is exploting children is only the tip of the iceberg.

But, the premise — complete with twists and turns and prophecies — wasn’t quite enough to make this book soar. With all it’s evocative language and descriptions, and Annie running about here and there and everywhere, I found myself slightly confused with what was exactly going on. And when the big reveal came at the end, I was completely underwhelmed. Maybe this has something to do with being an adult, but I’m not sure. The plotting felt uneven — too little happened for too much of the book, then it all came crashing down in the last 1/3. Which is too bad, becuase, really: it was an interesting premise.