Good news this morning - The Naming has been nominated for inclusion on the US 2005 Teens' Top Ten list. Woohoo!I'm very pleased just to be nominated, though obviously it would be brilliant to make the top ten.
The final list will be selected by teen vote during Teen Read Week in October. Teens' Top Ten Books (TTT) is part of YA Galley, a project of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). (Whew) The web page is here.
Just noticed that some updating posts of mine own seem to have vanished off this thread - the starred Kirkus review of The Naming, for instance, which was nice (it's for books of unusual merit - but sadly no longer available online) and some other nice US reviews which used to be here. Don't know what happened there - probably my hamfisted editing. I will try to update properly when I have some time...
...and found the Kirkus and another one on the Barnes and Noble site, so pasting them in:
VOYA - Rachelle Bilz
Sixteen-year-old orphan Maerad leads a miserable life as a slave until the Bard Cadvan rescues her from drudgery. In Annar and the Seven Kingdoms, Bards are the keepers of the Light, born with the Gift of the Speech wherein lies the knowledge and forces of good that help mankind and Nature. Groomed in the Schools, Bards are the forces of Light that combat the Dark's evil power. Traveling together after fleeing the settlement of Gilman's Cot, Cadvan realizes that Maerad is a Bard. Cadvan is journeying to School at Norloch to see his teacher Nelac; he hopes to have Maerad instated as a Bard. Through folktale prophecy, prescient dreams, and an ancient parchment, it becomes evident that Maerad is the Foretold, the Fated One, who will ultimately triumph over the Dark. As Cadvan and Maerad travel through Annar, they are beset by Hulls, wers, and a wight, all minions of the Dark. They also encounter an Elemental spirit and kind residents who help the voyagers on their way. Croggon creates a superb epic fantasy in this first book of the Pellinor series, which is evocative of both the Arthurian legend and The Lord of the Rings trilogy with the added twist of a female protagonist. Compellingly readable, the story offers the reader both richly developed characters and descriptive prose that sparks the imagination. A plentitude of action and plot surprises ensure a riveting read. Unbelievably fine, this book represents fantasy storytelling at its best. This exemplary novel is sure to appeal to all fantasy fans. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Candlewick,528p., Ages 12 to 18.
Kirkus Reviews
A lush, vivid epic fantasy about a slave who becomes pivotal to a vast land's survival. Sixteen-year-old Maerad toils with no hope of freedom or human connection until the day a strange man shows up in the cow byre. Though wounded, he arranges her escape. Cadvan's a Bard, one of the special people in this land who use learning and inborn magical power in the service of good. Maerad's one too, though she never knew it and is ignorant of its workings. Old enemies of the Light are reappearing and Cadvan senses that his discovery of Maerad is no fluke. Evil sweeps the land both blatantly and insidiously as Maerad and Cadvan journey through a grand School and across the wilds, seeking help and clarity and battling foes. Croggon's characters and environmental descriptions glow with a romantic sensibility and resonate beautifully with archetypal connections to Tolkien. Maerad's path to her destiny will be awaited eagerly. (pronunciation key, map, appendices, poems) (Fantasy. 12+)
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) - I've been having an absolutely brilliant and interesting time, I got back from Norwich yesterday, and liked it there a lot. I was doing workshops and writer in conversation stuff, but the main reason I was there was to be in a symposium at the University of East Anglia with 40 other writers from all around the world, and that was amazing. It's going to take me weeks to process it all.
If you want to visit it right now and join, the URL is ------> 
After getting a host, I guess I'll have to get approved by thefanlisting.org too... ok enough of this boring trash let's get on talking about other stuff 
Originally Posted by TheHobbitIvy
How cruel is this? 2007 for Americans? i can't wait that long! I'll have to somehow ship myself over to Austrailia for the release, then... 
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