Maresi (The Red Abbey Chronicles Trilogy)

by Maria Turtschaninoff

Annie Prime (Translator)

Maresi came to the Red Abbey when she was thirteen, in the Hunger Winter. Before then, she had only heard rumours of its existence in secret folk tales. In a world where girls aren't allowed to learn or do as they please, an island inhabited solely by women sounded like a fantasy. But now Maresi is here, and she knows it is real. She is safe.

Then one day Jai - tangled fair hair, clothes stiff with dirt, scars on her back - arrives on a ship. She has fled to the island to escape terrible danger and unimaginable cruelty.

And the men who hurt her will stop at nothing to find her. Now the women and girls of the Red Abbey must use all their powers and ancient knowledge to combat the forces that wish to destroy them. And Maresi, haunted by her own nightmares, must confront her very deepest, darkest fears.

A story of friendship and survival, magic and wonder, beauty and terror, Maresi will grip you and hold you spellbound.

• ISBN10: 1782691197
• ISBN13: 9781782691198
• Publish Date: 14 January 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Pushkin Children's Books
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Language: English

Reviews

[Chelsea]

I'd say the first half of this book was 3 stars and the second half was 5 stars. Which is why I ended up giving it 4 stars. The first half of the book there was a lot of explanations and build up which makes sense but it got tedious after a while. The real action started probably in the last third of the book and that's what kept me going.
I liked Maresi as a character, though she was pretty young and you could feel that. I'd still classify this as a YA book because it was pretty dark at times and a little too heavy for middle grade. She was a very brave little girl though and I was glad to see her point out that they did not need men on their island because they could easily do everything themselves. It was actually kind of nice having a book with no male main characters or love interest at all!
I'm looking forward to the next book!

[Jo]

Review to come.