The Luck Uglies - Durham, PaulSummary: Eleven-year-old Rye O'Chanter and her two friends delve into the secret lore of their village when mysterious creatures of legend reappear on the night of the Black Moon, leading them to the notorious secret society, the Luck Uglies.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Debut author Durham kick-starts his fantasy adventure trilogy with this cracker of an introduction. Rye O'Chanter—11 years old, unbelievably brave, and jaw-droppingly reckless—lives with her widowed mother and toddler sister in Village Drowning. The village is under the thumb of the ruthless and self-absorbed Earl Longchance. Years ago the village was terrorized by Bog Noblins, and Longchance claims the credit for driving them away. But legend says that honor goes to the Luck Uglies, a secret (some would even say criminal) society now banished and lost. When a supposedly extinct Bog Noblin turns up in the village, a power struggle ensues between Longchance and a man called Harmless, who holds the secret to the fate of the Luck Uglies. How Rye fits into all this is part of the drama and a lot of the excitement. Durham has created an impressively tactile world peopled with fully realized characters. His writing is strong and balanced, by turns funny and heart-stopping. There are no lulls in the story, which incorporates, in a completely original way, elements that will be familiar to fans of the genre. Antonsson's chapter-opening sketches further light the way. Readers will be sorry to see this bona fide page-turner end, at least until the next volume.
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