Black Spring

June 17, 2013
Croggon (the Pellinor series) returns with an homage to Wuthering Heights, trading the English moors of the original for the remote northern wilds of Elbasa, a land of powerful wizards and strict rules concerning vendetta. In language and pitch, the pastiche is spot on: the mincing southern fop (Hammel, in Croggon’s tale) and the pragmatic serving woman with hidden depths (Anna, standing in for Brontë’s Nelly) are captured in detail and in general through their narrative voices. It’s a fantasy setting, but Croggon maintains the north/south, high/low, and male/female class divisions Brontë explores; Lina, born a witch, takes the place of Catherine, while “swarthy” Damek il Haran has his analogue in Heathcliff. The plot, in its essentials, is identical. And therein lies the potential rub: the story does not have its own inherent propulsion. The conflict is patterned, not driven—it isn’t discovering something new. Does it matter? In a tale as well written as this one, probably not. Devotees of Brontë’s original work will still enjoy Croggon’s amplification of the story’s supernatural elements. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jenny Darling and Associates.

October 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Readers who loved Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights will appreciate this romantic and magical tale with a gothic flair. Hammel, a writer and well-to-do academic, is staying in a distant place to get away from the boredom of his daily life. He goes to the Red House in Elbasa where he meets the inn keepers, Anna and her husband, Zef. From Anna, he learns about his landlord, ruthless Damek, and Lina, the woman he was obsessed with. Anna tells him about the custom of vendetta, in which men in an entire family are murdered, and about the wizards that rule the land. The magical powers of Lina, who is a witch but cannot practice her magic, and wizardry are two elements that have been added. The complex plot, told from alternating points of view, is revealed a bit at a time, making this a novel for patient readers who appreciate a classic style of writing.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2013
Cleaving to the sensibility of the original, this love letter to Wuthering Heights is for fans of genuine Victorian Gothic. On the Yorkshire moors-like Northern Plateau, city-born Hammel visits his landlord, perpetually angry and sadistic Damek. A dog bite forces Hammel to stay overnight. In his room, the ghost of long-dead Lina appears in a mirror. Racing back to his rented house, Hammel stays abed recovering while housekeeper Anna narrates what happened to Lina, Lina's adopted brother, Damek, and herself "so long ago" in their childhood and teen years. This is the Land of Death, where vendetta is the law of the land: Any man killed must be avenged within a precise time period by a specific male relative, and then that killing must be avenged in kind, and so on. Generations-long strings of dictated murders devastate families and villages, yet vendetta is "the ground beneath us," unquestionable, unchangeable and supposedly honorable. Damek and Lina's family (unlike Anna's) is exempt from vendetta due to royal blood, but Damek covets wealth, Lina might be a witch (punishable by death), and both crave vengeance when done wrong. Lina's beauty is that of "superb pallor" and "dangerously bright" eyes; only stolid Anna keeps anything steady. Readers seeking the warm, solid core of Croggon's Pellinor series won't find it--Damek and Lina's quasi-incestuous love is unbalanced and punishing--but Bronte devotees will swoon. For those who take their romance tumultuous and doomed. (Gothic horror/fantasy. 14 & up)

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September 15, 2013
Grades 9-12 Is there anything more romantic than Catherine and Heathcliff on a misty moor? Croggon (The Singing, 2009) surely doesn't think so, as her latest is an admirableif derivativeparanormal retelling of Wuthering Heights, right down to the narrative style and structure. Lina, a willful, independent girl who has the violet eyes indicative of a witch, and Damek, her brooding adopted brother, have a deep and abiding connection that turns into a dangerous, ill-fated romance. Adding to the danger, magic has been unfairly outlawed for women, and Lina's possible supernatural powers make her a target of scorn and, eventually, violence. All of this conspires to produce an atmosphere dripping with gothic touches and a darkly captivating tale of heartbreaking, destructive passion. For, as Anna, the kindly narrator of much of the novel, says, there is so little of interest to say about happiness. Readers unfamiliar with Emily Bront''s classic will stick around for Lina's obsessive and doomed romance with Damek, while fans will delight in the clever echoes of the original.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
Violet-eyed witch Lina, daughter of a powerful lord, is subject to the wrath of the wizards of the North, who seek to suppress any competing powers--especially those found in women. Seemingly cursed, Lina only finds strength once she sheds the control of domineering men, including her love, Damek. The magical slant of this poetic Wuthering Heights reimagining is compelling.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

August 18, 2012
Black Spring is a dark, gothic tale inspired by Wuthering Heights. In this fantasy version of 19th-century England, some people are born with magical powers. However, only the male babies who show signs of magic are allowed to grow to become wizards—witch babies are slaughtered. Lina’s eyes show all who look at her that she is a witch, but her father refuses to have her killed. She spends her childhood in the more tolerant South before moving to the desolate North. Unhappy with the witch in the North, the King forces Lina’s family to take in one of his illegitimate children—Damek. Lina and Damek, although they initially dislike one another, become devoted to each other to the point of obsession. When a traveller is killed in their town, the Vendetta starts bringing bloodshed and desperation to the people of the village. What I enjoyed most about this book was the way in which small pieces of information about this magical, bleak world were revealed. The story sticks closely to the basic plot of Wuthering Heights, and as such I found myself waiting for particular things to happen several chapters before they actually came about. This is a great book for young adults who would like something that combines a fantasy tale with the feel of a classic.

Amelia Vahtrick is the children’s book buyer at Better Read Than Dead in Newtown