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Musical oddity at the heart of spellbinding tale

SaskBooks: Young adult fiction tale a thrilling ride
Amanda Zimmerman / SaskBooks
saskbooks star song (Small)
Kriss Lemark's precarious place in the community is further unsettled when his caretaker and only family is brutally attacked and her house burned. SaskBooks Image

“Star Song”

By Edward Willett

Published by Shadowpaw Press

$24.95 ISBN 978-1-989398-03-6

In the same vein as his Worldshapers series, Regina author Edward Willet weaves a standalone sci-fi fantasy tale for young adult readers that is sure to captivate from the very first chapter. Worldhugger Kriss Lemark has never fit in on the planet he's grown up on, his appearance setting him apart from the native-born villagers. His precarious place in the community is further unsettled when his caretaker and only family is brutally attacked and her house burned. Kriss has only a strange kind of emotion-expressing instrument called a touchlyre to his name. It is a musical oddity gifted from his father that he promised never to reveal. What secrets from the past does it hold?

Summoning his courage, Kriss walks the days-long journey to report Mella's murder in the city. Upon his arrival and through a few misadventures, the teen begins to realize just how impossible his dream of leaving the planet for the stars really is. There are only two ways to travel and both are closed to him based on his funds, education and connections. He's desperate though, so he breaks his promise and uses the touchlyre as a way to earn room and board at a local pub.

It is there he encounters Tevera. She's part of a ship's crew and has been instructed never to get involved with worldhuggers like Kriss. However, she finds herself breaking this very important guideline when she hears the touchlyre's emotionally-driven music. Together, Kriss and Tevera will try to break down long-held rules, solve the mystery of Kriss's parentage, and hopefully discover just what exists between them.

As far as storyline, we jump right into the action after introducing Kriss and keep that momentum throughout. Readers may stumble over some of the unique sentence structure and few spelling errors but any necessary rereading is made up for by the easily imagined items in the universe. Mr. Willett's additional passion for music is cleverly given center stage in the story's plot through the integral touchlyre.

With action, tragedy, and a hint of romance, Star Song promises a thrilling ride from start to finish.

This book is available at your local bookstore or from www.skbooks.com.