Rise by Andrea Cremer - OPTIONAL

Cremer, Andrea  Rise  387 pages.  Philomel Books, JANUARY 2013.  $18.99  Content:  Language: PG (1 swear);  Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

This is the sequel to the book Rift.  The book starts with Ember and her boyfriend/mentor, Barrow, running from the darkness that has overtaken the other knights of their kingdom.  They have to fight against those who once where their greatest allies, and Ember has to play on her best friend Allistar’s love for her, so she can survive long enough to find a way to stop Allistar and those dark knights whom he serves.  After realizing that her sister has been shamed and has sought refuge at the keep that Ember has abandoned, Ember returns to the community of dark knights she fled and begs forgiveness of Allistar and plays on his love for her.  Ember uses Allistar’s protection to find out information about the evil doings of Eira, the evil leader, and relays that information to the small group of knights who have fought for good.  As a fight between good and bad erupts, Ember has to choose a side and try to protect those she loves.  

This book leaves the reader wondering what will happen next.  I have enjoyed all the books written by Andrea Cremer; however, this book was slow at times and not as action packed as the others.  Also, I felt like more time was spent on the evil characters and their wicked plan, and I was hoping for more story with Ember and Barrow, the main characters.  The evil doings were quite dark and creepy, moving this book to a high school audience for sure.  

HS-OPTIONAL .  Reviewer, C. Peterson.