cover image Children of the Maker

Children of the Maker

Lucy Cullyford Babbitt. Farrar Straus Giroux, $15 (231pp) ISBN 978-0-374-31245-9

From the author of The Oval Amulet comes this sequel, again about the Joined (married) rulers of Melde, Paragrin and Cam, who separate temporarily when Paragrin wants a holiday. She and Kirk, Cam's brother, set off together, while Cam is faced with the challenge of his life: ruling alone, and living by the creed that ``nothing is unforgivable.'' But it is Cam and Paragrin's separation that makes them especially vulnerable to attack and ruin. Magramid, sister and rival of Melde's Half-Divine Ruler, Jentessa, recognizes the weakness and decides to use it to her advantage, attempting to seduce Cam as she once seduced another mortal. Much of what is compelling about Babbitt's novel is the rivalry between Magramid and Jentessa, and readers may wish, before Magramid's skyward demise, that their scuffle had been a bit more developed. But the scenes of Melde life, especially contrasted with the life in Magramid's colony, Vasser, make up in spirit for what the sisters' relationship lacks, and the bond between Paragrin and Cam is authentically realized. Ages 12-up. (Dec.)