Delphernia Undersea wants to sing. But everyone on Blightsend knows music belongs to the Masters — and girls with singing throats are swallowed by the sea.

On the strange, stormy island of Blightsend, twelve-year-old Delphernia Undersea has spent her whole life in the cloister of turnaway girls, hidden from sea and sky by a dome of stone and the laws of the island. Outside, the Masters play their music. Inside, the turnaway girls silently make that music into gold. Making shimmer, Mother Nine calls it. But Delphernia can’t make shimmer. She would rather sing than stay silent. When a Master who doesn’t act like a Master comes to the skydoor, it’s a chance for Delphernia to leave the cloister. Outside the stone dome, the sea breathes like a wild beast, the sky watches with stars like eyes, and even the gardens have claws. Outside, secrets fall silent in halls without sound. And outside, Delphernia is caught — between the island’s sinister Custodian and its mysterious Childer-Queen. Between a poem-speaking prince and a girl who feels like freedom. And in a debut that glimmers with hope and beauty, freedom — to sing, to change, to live — is precisely what’s at stake.

Out October 2018

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Aimed for the higher age spectrum of middle-age readers, this book is full of brilliant and soul-searching moments. It carries a strong richly felt theme, that of which centers around being true to yourself.  Magic where songs weaves gold, how cool is that, and such an original concept!

As a debut novel, I am quite surprised and impressed with this author.  She has a beautiful, lyrical voice that is capable of bringing the reader into the story to experience a wide range of emotions by the time the story is finished.

And the cover? Wow! Just gorgeous!  I was pleased with everything about this book and read it in one sitting!

I gave this book: