Queen of Attolia / Megan Whalen Turner / 279 pages

Turner's series featuring Eugenides, the Queen's Thief, is totally intriguing and riveting reading. Queen of Attolia is the 2nd book in the 4 book series. In this book, the three mythical kingdoms are a war, and Eugenides must use his craftiness to overcome a most violent and tragic personal attack to form new alliances and defeat the forces that seek to overrun the countries. Besides a plot that moves along quickly, the characters are ones that you will believe and with whom you may identify. There's plenty in this book to think about; characters that are complex, consequences of actions, alternate solutions to problems, and the impact of behaviors. Just check out The King of Attolia (the next book) right away because you won't want to wait to see what happens. Oh, yeah, this is a kids book....great for about grade 5 & up....and proof positive that well-written children's books have great appeal to all readers and can be read on many different levels. Highly recommended.