Fireborn: Twelve and the Frozen Forest

Twelve has given up her name and her previous life to take an oath of allegiance to the Hunting Lodge. She has sworn she will, "never lower her weapons in the face of darkness nor allow tyranny to rise". Now she is learning to hunt dark creatures so she can earn a new name and graduate from huntling to Hunter. She's a fearsome fighter, yet she struggles to contain her temper and dreams and prefers isolation to friendship with her fellow huntlings.

Despite all this, when Seven goes missing and the Hunting Lodge is under attack, Twelve feels strangely compelled to mount a rescue attempt. Before long, she's fighting for her life. She is forced to work with others and to confront her inner rage. Ultimately, she realises it is up to her to decide what person she wants to be. Can she and will she live up to the oath she has taken?

The shimmering frost bound setting of an imagined prehistoric world is reminiscent of Sky Song or Wolf Brother.  Twelve is a formidable modern heroine, a fierce, resourceful survivor, in the mould of Katniss Everdeen. I enjoyed both elements but the real fun of Fireborn for me was its page-turning plot: a succession of narrow escapes, gruesome monsters and hard-fought battles, with a pinch of magic thrown in. Fireborn is an exhilarating read, a sizzling adventure. Children who enjoy a story with plenty of action and the thrill of suspense will surely love it.

432 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow

Suggested Reading Age 11+

Twelve has pledged her life to the Hunting Lodge. She has given up her name and is now a Huntling, training in the art of fighting monsters and keeping the peace in the land of Ember. Once she has earned the right to be a Hunter she will be able to choose a new name. Until then, she is a number.   One evening the walls of the Lodge are breached by goblins and one of the other Huntlings, a girl named Seven, is taken. Twelve, along with two boys, Five and Six, team up with the Stone Guardian of the Lodge, Dog, and set off on an epic adventure to find Seven.

Fireborn is an exciting, exhilarating debut novel from Aisling Fowler, a new name in the world of children's literature. Set in a wild and bleak world, it is full of mystery and, sometimes, horror. The three Huntlings, Five, Six and Twelve, encounter many ferocious beasts on their journey through the Frozen Forest. We are introduced to the nightmarish Cliffcrawlers, the mischievous and deadly Firesprites and the terrible Ygrex, a dreamstalker who invades a person's memories and twists them so as to confuse and trick its victims. Twelve also confronts huge spiders, Deathspinners, as well as rescuing the gentle Moxie, Foxpaw, who helps them with their quest.

The novel is filled with action and is beautifully written, giving the reader a wonderful picture of this cold and dangerous land. Twelve is the central character, and is a complex and fascinating girl, who finds she has powers she could not have dreamed of. She is mistrustful of others and is full of anger. As we follow her story, we discover more about her background and learn how she came to lose her family and how she became a Huntling. She and Five do not like each other at the beginning of the book, and the author beautifully describes how their mutual loathing becomes grudging respect and, finally, true friendship. The supporting characters, Six and the Guardian, Dog, are both integral to the story and the author cleverly manages to inject some humour into the narrative.

Some parts of the novel are quite dark and violent, especially the brilliant description of the meeting with the Cliffcrawlers, which is truly scary! Fowler uses clever devices to move the story along; Twelve has visions of her past which allow us to understand more about what happened to her and why she is so angry with the world. Twelve also uses a book, a Magical Bestiary, to help her to recognise and overcome the many monsters the group meet along the way. She reads out sections to her fellow travellers, so the reader is given a perfect image of the creatures involved.

This is ultimately a story about bravery and friendship, with a fierce and strong heroine at its heart. The adventures of Twelve, Five, Six and Seven have surely only just begun and I look forward to following them on their next quest.

432 pages / Reviewed by Beverley Somerset, School Librarian

Suggested Reading Age 11+