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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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This was no time to cry.
She
had to worry about Moonsilver and Avamir and Kip now, not about
herself.
Inside the caravan, Moonsilver struck his hoof against the planks again.
"Play your flute for a while," Davey called over his shoulder. "It
calms him down."
Heart pulled the flute out of the shoulder-case Zim had made for her.
She was lifting it to her lips when she noticed tiny, dark shapes on the
horizon.
For a long moment, she stared, blinking.
Then she lowered the flute.
They hadn't run into anyone since they had wound their way down out of
Dunraven's mountains.
"See the riders?" Davey asked.
"Yes," Heart answered.
The riders were separating, fanning out. Heart watched, puzzled and
scared. Why would they do that?
"Guardsmen," Davey said. "Lord Irmaedith's."
Heart stared, wondering how he knew.
Then she saw a flash of reflected sunlight. Only silvered steel sparkled
like that-it was their sword scabbards.
"What do they want?" Heart asked, her voice shrill.
"Keep your wits," Binney called out, her clear voice carrying down the
line of wagons. "They just want to see what we're about, same as
always."
Heart swallowed hard.
She could hear the hoof beats now.
In a few moments, the guardsmen would be upon them.
Heart frowned. It was so unfair that Moonsilver had to ride inside a
stuffy caravan. |
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Synopsis |
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Heart, Avamir,
Moonsilver and Kip the dog are back with the gypsies. As they head
toward Jordanville, Heart wishes that Moonsilver, the unicorn, could be
outside of the painted wagon. The country they are traveling through has
little trees, so Moonsilver has to remain hidden during the day.
At a rest-stop, guardsmen of
Lord Irmaedith approach the gypsy caravan. On one of the horses is the
boy names Tibbs Renner from Ash Grove. He jumps off the horse and makes
a break for it, but the guardsmen capture him again. After they leave,
Heart finds the small book that Tibbs threw into the high grass before
they caught him. In the book, Heart discovers a drawing of two rearing
unicorns and notes that it is the same as the one in Lord Dunraven's
book.
When they arrive in
Jordanville, after the gypsies put on a show for the town, Tibbs, who
has escaped again, approaches Heart asking for help. Tibbs is looking
for the best metalworker alive, Joseph Lequire, and he wants to travel
with the gypsies while he looks for him so he can be Lequire's
apprentice. Tibbs begins teaching Heart and the other gypsy children how
to read. It is a slow process, but everyday they learn a little more.
Heart's objective is to be able to read the book she took from Lord
Dunraven.
In Thoren, a town hidden in
the rocks, Heart sees a gate to the library and it has rearing unicorns
in the metalwork. She shows Tibbs the gate and he realizes that it must
have been made by Lequire. The librarian informs Heart they the gate
shows the ancient symbol of the Royal House of Avamir, which is the same
symbol that is on her blanket.
The Sunset Gates
is the fifth book in the
Unicorn's Secret Series. This book was written by
Kathleen Duey and
illustrated by Omar Rayyan. This series is intended for young
readers ages 7 to 9.
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Review |
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Heart is traveling with her
gypsy friends again. This is excellent because for so long she was alone
with the two unicorns. It was interesting to see Tibbs again since he
was the one who told everyone about the unicorns back in Ash Grove. It
seems that he has grown up a bit and promises not to tell anyone about
the Heart's unicorns anymore. I actually started to like him in The
Sunset Gates.
Heart is getting closer and closer to finding her family, which she is
desperately seeking. She is puzzled by the sunset gate with the two
rearing unicorns. Since it is the same symbol that is on the blanket she
was found with, does that mean that she came from the Royal House of
Avamir?
Although this book wasn't packed with action, like some of the others, The
Sunset Gates
reveals more of the storyline that will lead Heart to her family. One
again, the few images by Omar Rayyan are wonderful and the writing by
Kathleen Duey is highly entertaining.
Overall, The
Sunset Gates
is another great story in the Unicorn's Secret Series and I cannot with
to find out what happens next to Heart in True Heart.
I rated this book a 9 out of
10. |
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