Book: Raiders’ Ransom by Emily Diamand
Release date: December 1, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
From: Publisher
Summary:
It’s the 22nd century and, because of climate change, much of England is underwater. Poor Lilly is out fishing with her trusty sea-cat when greedy raiders pillage the town–and kidnap the prime minister’s daughter. Her village blamed, Lilly decides to find the girl. Off she sails, in secret. And with a ransom: a mysterious talking jewel. “If I save his daughter,” Lilly reasons, “the prime minister’s sure to reward me.” Little does Lilly know that it will take more than grit to outwit the tricky, treacherous piratical tribes!
Raiders’ Ransom is the story of Lilly Melkun and how she tries to save her village. After raiders kidnap the prime minister’s daughter, things go horribly wrong for her small fishing village. She knows that she is the only one left who could possibly prove the prime minister wrong so she and her seacat, Cat, set out to find the raiders and deliver them the ransom before a war is started.
Along the way Lilly meets some pretty unusual characters. She teams up with Zeph, knowing that he can take her to Alexandra. The only thing is, he doesn’t know that he’s taking her to Alexandra. Things get pretty crazy for these two before all is said and done.
The book is told from the points-of-view of both Lilly and Zeph which made it even better. It helped show both sides of the story and it made both their lives seem different than before. I guess looking at someone else’s life from the outside changes everything about it. Also, the book is written in their dialect. They are both kind of uneducated so it made the writing kind of weird. It took some getting used too, and some time to figure out what each word meant but it was vital to the book. It just wouldn’t have had the same effect if it was written in regular english.
What was really unique about Raiders’ Ransom and what made it so cool is that it takes place in the 23rd century but it’s like another “dark age.” Technology has been killed off and people are living like they did in the past. It was a bit confusing to me at first but once I got used to it, it was really cool. It makes you wonder if things are going to be like that in the future.
Overall, Raiders’ Ransom was an enjoyable read. It definitely takes a little time to get into the story but it’s worth it in the end. And it gives you something to think about!
Writing: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Originality: 10/10
Overall: 44/50=B+
Cover: 8/10=B-
This one looks like a lot of fun, but I think better suited for the middle grade group?
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Good review. I’ve been interested in this for a while, so it’s nice to hear a positive review.