Rough Magic

Rough Magic

  • By: Caryl Mullin
  • Pages:266
  • Publisher:Second Story Press
  • Themes:The Tempest, Shakespeare, environmentalism activism
  •  
  • Available:09/09/2009
  • Age Groups:Fiction Ages 12+
Paperback
9781897187630
$9.95
Caliban, born to a great sorceress, grew up on an island. Having escaped to live amongst kingdoms and courtiers, he now finds himself returning with his young charge Chiara, a girl who has a power within her that no one suspected.
The chief strength of this moody and atmospheric book is the aura of ancient magic that it captures.
– Canadian Children's Book News
Mullin’s environmental message of hope and restoration is an enthralling take on the Bard.
– Booklist
3.5 out of 4 stars Imaginative retelling and extension of Shakespeare's play, The Tempest… The power of transformation shines through this retelling. The power of water and shipwrecks, magic and alchemy, and parental love and devotion steamroller their way through this compelling story…. This complex, poetic novel with its shifting settings and times (at once both real and imagined) will appeal to sophisticated readers...Highly recommended.
– CM Magazine
I found myself absorbed from beginning to end. There was thematic cohesion, and there was cohesion to the plot--it was necessary that time should pass, and new characters to emerge.
– Charlotte’s Library blog
This book will also be a treat for anybody who enjoys seeing strong female characters in the media. From a powerful sorceress to a girl who's just so very competant and forthright that you can't help but like her, this book puts women in the spotlight and does it with flair, but doesn't relegate males to the background as completely unimportant to the plot.
– Tea and Tomes blog
...you will find yourself pleasantly enthralled.
– Kutztown University Book Review
[An] ambitious and heroic tale worth reading.
– Library Media Collection
Kiss the Book Blog
This mysterious desert island has seen humans come and go, stealing its magic and enslaving its spirits. When the staff holding the powers of the island gets splintered and abandoned it is slowly dying with only one option that could save it from this fate. This book is interesting, but some parts are extremely confusing. The author does not go into enough detail, most of the time, to let the reader fully comprehend what is happening.

– Kiss the Book Blog
An absorbing and fascinating re-imagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest... This would be a great companion piece or introduction to Shakespeare. Students could relate to this book and its language while looking at how stories told from other viewpoints can differ dramatically.
– Resource Links
Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards, Children's and Young Adult Category   | 2010  |  Winner