Raiders’ Ransom by Emily Diamand
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Lynn: So – Cindy and I are reading the great new 2010 arc’s as fast as we can turn the pages but we don’t want to move on without wedging in some of the outstanding late 2009 books. Raiders’ Ransom (Scholastic/Chicken House, Dec. 2009) is one I don’t want anyone to miss.
It’s 23rd century Britain and the country is incredibly changed. The seas have risen, submerging much of the land. After the Great Collapse the world has reverted to a pre-industrial way of life and technologies are practically unknown. Lilly Melkun supports her family by fishing but one day she returns home from a day on her boat to find that one of the many raiding pirate families has stormed into her village, killed her grandmother and taken hostage the visiting daughter of the Prime Minister. Lilly decides to rescue the youngster and save her village and she steals a “jewel” to offer in exchange. The jewel turns out to be sarcastic gaming computer with real attitude. Lilly is thrown together with Zeph, son of the Raider chief, and the two are forced by necessity into an acrimonious partnership. Told in alternating narratives, this is a story with enough action, double-dealing, and suspense for three books! The combination of 18th century sea battles, dystopian future, strong-minded heroines and secret-filled suspense kept me flying through the book. I loved it! Great for girls AND boys, this is perfect to hand to your teens who are hounding you for the next Hunger Games installment – they will love it too.
