Young Adult Tuesday: Reckoning by Kerry Wilkinson

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

    

  Reckoning is written by Kerry Wilkinson and is published by St. Martins Griffin. Silver Blackthorn is an ordinary girl living a quiet life in the post-war English village of Martindale. The world has drastically changed since her parents were children. Many wars have ravaged the world, and countries have fought against one another for years. King Victor has risen, almost god-like, to power in England and has begun to rebuild the lives of his subjects. The kingdom is separated into four different Realms, with all meeting at a hub in the Middle Kingdom, a city of towering buildings. Here is the center of politics, trade, and more, with each Realm represented by four enormous towers. 

  As a tribute to King Victor, a Reckoning is held. During the Reckoning, several teenage boys and girls are chosen to live out their lives in service to the kingdom. Children aspire to be chosen to serve King Victor at Windsor Castle, hearing stories of travel, exotic lives, and riches. But for Silver Blackthorn, now sixteen, the Reckoning is a sad event. If she is chosen to serve her kingdom, she will be separated from her family and friends in Martindale. She hopes to serve the kingdom in Martindale, but she soon learns that is not to be. During the Reckoning, it is announced who will serve at Windsor Castle. Silver's name is on that list.

  She leaves her family and love behind to embark on her new journey. No one that has been taken to Windsor Castle has been heard from again. But Silver is optimistic enough to go along with her kingdom's laws. But when she arrives at the castle and meets King Victor, it is obvious that her beloved King is a maniac. Formulating a desperate plan, she leads several Offerings to freedom, but they escape the forces of their King?

  Reckoning is a roller coaster ride of a book, that had me turning pages faster and faster to get to the next scene. Wilkinson is very talented at the first-person narrative, and you often feel how Silver is feeling from the written word. The action sequences are motion picture worthy. The characters are very well constructed and three-dimensional. The world-building is unfolded slowly through the eyes of Silver and the stories of her people. I loved the protagonists and booed the loathsome antagonists. There was not one part of this book that I did not love. 

  I give this book five out of five stars! An amazingly fun ride for YA readers! 

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