A clever book that mixes two worlds (one where magic is accepted and another where it's not) into one. The mix doesn't truly appear until later in the book, actually near the end. Duey's writing is strong, her characters are interesting and sympathetic and I will eventually read the next book in this series, because the first was more than interesting enough to make me want to know what happens next. ( )

Reviewed by Natalie Tsang for TeensReadToo.com

Despite what the cover may say, Kathleen Duey's SKIN HUNGER, first installment of her fantasy trilogy A RESURRECTION OF MAGIC, is not a novel. It's a third of a novel. Or maybe it's two novels. Maybe it's a sixth. But anyway you slice the cake, it's not enough.

The book alternates chapters narrated by Sadima, a farm girl, and Hahp, a second born son of a cruel merchant. The catch is that they live several generations apart. One in a world that desperately needs magic and the other in one saturated and corrupted by it.

The story opens on the night Sadima is born. Her family is cheated by a fake magician, who instead of assisting in the birth, steals their valuables and lets her mother die. Unsurprisingly, Sadima grows up in a family that hates magic and she is forced to hide her gift of understanding animals. Franklin, a servant of a young nobleman named Somiss, finds her and tells her about his belief that magic will solve all the problems of the world. Together, the three try to rediscover magic. Hahp is sent to an academy of magic. There are nine other boys. Eight of them come from wealthy families and the ninth, Hahp's roommate, is a mysterious peasant named Gerrard. Unlike Franklin's lofty ideals of teaching everyone magic, here everyone must earn the right to learn. And those who do not or cannot will die.

I think this book will appeal to both boys and girls. Initially, each protagonist seems to represent the traditional story of their gender. For Sadima, the girl, it is a love story and for Hahp, the boy, it is an adventure story. At first, I thought the sweetness of Sadima's part was a nice balance to Hahp's grittier and darker part. Over time, the two stories blur together. What Sadima does is now inextricably connected to Hahp's outcome and the future explains the past.

The book is extremely vivid and well thought out. Kathleen Duey creates many unique, strong, and complex major characters. It is undeniably a very dark book, but the main characters are too optimistic and hopeful to make it depressing. Even though it is 357 pages, the font is larger than normal and I finished it in one sitting. And as hinted in the beginning, (and I hope I'm not giving too much away), the story ends with a teeth-gnashing cliffhanger.

I really like how the story is aimed at ages twelve and up, but does not dumb down or gloss over the grittier aspects of life, such as the death of a loved one and the difficulties and consequences of making your own decisions. At the same time, I hesitate to recommend this book to grade school and possibly junior high students. If it were a movie, the violence would probably give it an "R" rating. However, the blood and gore is never gratuitous and always serves to improve the story. I have seen more graphic writing in historical fiction aimed at this age group, such Donna Jo Napoli's STONES IN WATER. It also has the same amount of emotional turmoil in any of the later HARRY POTTER and HIS DARK MATERIALS books. Not for the faint of heart, but still a great first book in what seems to be an addictive trilogy. ( )

Written in alternative chapters this story of a girl who lives in a world where magic is frowned on, ridiculed and punished and a boy where magic is rampant but to become a magician you have to survive the school. A place where you starve until you work out how to create your own food, a place where your other classmates disappear and where you're told only one of you will go on to become a magician.

Hahp is one of these students, a disappointment to his parents this is his last recourse. He learns but can he learn quickly enough.

Sadima is from the earlier time, her mother died giving birth to her and only for her dedicated brother she wouldn't have survived much longer. She can hear animals speak to her. When opportunity brings her to the big city she finds herself with Franklin and Somiss and their obsession to discover the truth about magic. The cost may be too high.

The story ends on a cliffhanger and I really do want to know what happens next. ( )

Original post at The Little Bookworm refers to audio

Sadima lives in a world where magic is outlawed and the country is ruled by a king. But she has a magic all her own, she can hear animals talk. One day she meets Franklin who works for a young nobleman and who invites her to the city. After the death of her father, she goes and finds that they are working on finding the lost magic.

Centuries later, Hahp lives in a world where magicians are revered. He has no particular magic skill but as the second son of a most hated father, he is sent to the magicians to learn magic. But only one student can graduate and the methods of teaching are most cruel indeed.

First, let me say that I listened to this on a Playaway. If you've never seen one or used one, they are portable little audiobooks the size of an mp3 player. They are most cool and enable me to save room on my player for music and they are very easy to use. Luckily my local library lends them out. Andy Paris is the narrator and he does an excellent job although he varies his speaking speed something and sometimes it is too slow. But he has a nice clear voice and he was easy to listen too.

Anyway, I liked this book although it was horrifying what they do to those poor boys. I'm really wondering how the story of Hahp and the story of Sadima tie into together. I guess I have to read the next book. Somiss, the nobleman, is insane and terrifying. Sadima is awesome and Franklin is pitiful. In the end I was ready for it to be over, but I wish there had been more answers. It ended on a crazy cliffhanger. ( )

Parallel timelines, centuries apart: Sadima, who can communicate mentally with animals, becomes the servant of two would-be mages, Franklin and Somiss, who are attempting to rediscover the magic that may have led to a world-changing holocaust or war. Centuries later, Hahp, despised by his nouveau riche father, is deposited in the wizards' school. The headmaster, Somiss, tells the incoming class of eleven that only one or none of them will graduate a wizard, and the school's "courses" quickly prove a lesson in cruelty: the boys are made to starve until and unless they can produce food by magic, and they are all warned against helping each other, although some--especially Hahp and his streetwise roommate Gerrard--manage to sneak each other tiny, terrifying bits of unacknowledged and unacknowledgeable help.The prose is sometimes clunky and Duey is too fond of em-dashes, but the characterization and the growing feeling of entrapment across both storylines have real force. It's clear what benefits Sadima has had from growing up in a loving family, even with her depressed and sometimes abusive father; none of the boys in Hahp's storyline appears to have any kind of emotional resources with which to fight the competitiveness and cruelty of the wizard school. I am curious to know what happens to Sadima and even the less likable Hahp and how Franklin and Somiss' plans became the wizard school, although some of what went wrong is already clear.Somiss, although cruel, selfish, and spoiled, also has some awkward interpersonal attributes that make me wonder if he suffers manic-depression as well, particularly the surge in energy that accompanies fasting for him. ( )

It’s no surprise that this dark fantasy was a National Book Award nominee. There are so many elements throughout the text, both subtle and blatant, that make it a layered and robust story. First, the two stories running side-by-side is not only a brilliant idea, but it’s well executed. Only someone with true writing talent could write two stories, one from 3rd person and the other from 1st person and make them feel so genuinely unique from each other, yet intertwined so masterfully. At first, it’s difficult to see the correlation, but as soon as things start clicking, it’s hard to put the book down. Of the major categories of conflict, three of them weave throughout the text, giving it depth on several levels. Hahp is a character who communicates his riddles psychology effectively, and his abusive experience in the school of wizardry is told poignantly as only someone with that kind of depth can. Sadima’s love and personal conviction for an individual’s responsibility to enacting social change both on a macro and micro level is magnetic and contagious. You hate the things she hates, loves the things she loves, and find yourself rooting for her to succeed, only to be left hanging when the story takes such a dramatic turn. It was dark but enthralling, and as soon as I finished reading, I wanted to jump right into the next one. I recommend this book to readers 12 , but be warned that it contains many elements that could get it banned from reading lists.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

This was immediately gripping - I usually dislike parallel narratives like this, and as usual, I was sorry when each segment came to and and and the stories swapped, but when the ties between the stories became clearer, I hurtled through with a feeling of horror and dread. The endings came far too soon, and I have a million questions, and I really need to find out what happens next. ( )

The first in the series, the only complaint that I have is that I want more! This story goes back and forth between two characters, one from the past and one from the present. The boy in the present is one out of ten boys to be chosen to become a wizard, but it's not all fun and Harry Potter-like. These boys are often starved until they can complete tasks and they cannot bathe or go outside. They are lucky if they can find their way back to their room. The character from the past is a young woman who has found herself meeting one of the wizards to be and finds herself following him to his city after her father dies. What she doesn't realize is the man she loves is owned by another, more fierce character who is obsessed with finding the origins of magic. Overall, the book was just a fascinating read, pulling you in and making you long for more. ( )

This story is told in alternating chapters, focusing on two different characters. The first is Sadima, whose mother died when the magician who was paid to help with her birthing instead robbed them of everything in the room and left Sadima for dead. Both her brother and father have a fiere hatred for fake magicians after that. When Sadima discovers that she can communicate with animals, she doesn't tell her family. Later, when a stranger named Franklin comes to see her, she feels instant companionship through the act of sharing her story honestly with him. Later, when her father dies, she decides to find Franklin. He is living with a half crazed man named Somiss, who is determined to bring magic back to the world. He is secretly pursuing this knowledge and spends most of the days tracking down rhythms and words from the gypsies. Sadima works her way into their gratitude by cleaning and cooking and later copying for them. She loves Franklin, but cannot persuade him to leave Somiss, who actually owns him.
The second story is set centuries later when magic has been restored, but is available only to the wealthy. A young boy, Hahp, quite unwillingly, is sent to the wizard academy, where he and nine other boys will compete to be the one boy who manages to survive the tasks Somiss and Franklin set for them. The wizard school has no resemblance to any magic school you've ever heard described. The boys who fail to learn what they're expected to learn - die. The cave they live in is dark, and mysterious, and filled with twisting turning passageways. Their existence is a friendless one, and they are punished severely for helping each other. Hahp manages to survive through a bit of help he gets from Gerrard, a peasant boy who is his roomate, and Levan, an old friend from school.
When book one ends, Sadima, Franklin and Somiss have had to flee their residence when locals set the building on fire, and Gerrard and Hahp have agreed to secretly help each other and plan to destroy the academy and find a way to escape with their lives.
I hadn't paid attention to the fact that the book was a series, so the ending was extremely unsatisfying. I also think that the story being told in alternating chapters, indicated by a picture of a girl running or a picture of a boy leaning against a cave wall, would be quite confusing for some readers. It would be beneficial to let a weaker reader know that this is the way the book is organized. It also drags in a few places - specifically the times when Sadima is copying text and begging Franklin to leave Somiss. I found myself wishing she would just break free of him and find a happier life. Given the tiny, tiny bit of affection Franklin bestows upon Sadima, I don't understand why she feels such a kinship with him. I sure wouldn't be staying with him! ( )

Kearsten says: Interesting, confusing and bleak. But in a good way... ( )

Interesting, confusing and bleak. Read for Mock Printz. ( )

This book was extremely compelling at the end, but then had no conclusion of the story, as it is to be continued in the sequel, so I was frustrated at the end of the book. The rest of the book I thought moved very slowly, with not much really happening. There are some mature themes in the book, so I would recommend it for mature teens. I am looking forward to the sequel and my curiosity is definitely aroused. The book has to do with a character who is obsessed with returning magic to the world, seemingly for good reasons, yet the means he goes to in order to do this are questionable. Point of view and time-frame vary from chapter to chapter with two linked stories that we are not exactly sure how they fit together. Interesting, yes...but some patience will needed to endure the slow story and the need to wait for the sequel to get resolution. ( )

A wonderful cross-time tale of a country without magic, the people who brought it back, and Hell's horrible counterpart to Hogwarts. It may take a little while to figure out what is going on, but as the story unfolds, you're torn between wanting to stay with one story and aching to move on to the next. ( )

I really wish the second book in this series was already out. I hate having to wait!! The book follows two different characters, Sadima and Hahp, who live in different time periods but whose stories are intertwined. Sadima's world is one almost devoid of magic; the kings banished and killed the magicians long ago. In Hahp's world, magic has been restored and is used for everything by those who have the means. Hahp is chosen to go to a special Academy along with 9 other boys. One of them will graduate to become a wizard, but first they have to survive. I can't wait to see what happens next, especially given the ending!! ( )

When I first read the description for Skin Hunger, it sounded intriguing. Now, having finished the book, I can definitely say intriguing is only the tip of the iceberg. This was a very unusual fantasy set in a world of wizards much crueler and warped than anything Harry Potter could have dreamed of. In actuality this is really two separate stories in one, paradoxically intertwined by common characters in a way not completely revealed, at least not in this first volume.

In the first part we are introduced to Sadima, saved and raised by her brother who loves her but cannot believe in her gifts. The second story is of a businessman's youngest son, Hahp, who is sent to a strange and horrifying academy to learn wizardry, or die trying. I would hate to give anything more than this away as I believe the story is best read with blinders on going in.

I will say that it is a very dark, well written, young adult fantasy. It is descriptive but not overwhelmingly complex. The author feeds you clues, bits and pieces as the story goes along, that reveal how tightly woven the two stories are. Although this seems like it would be frustrating, the result is actually quite engrossing. There is a little bit of romance in here, although I would not, by any stretch of the imagination, say this is a girly tale, and it actually feels a bit fatalistic. You're left highly questioning the possibility of a happy ending which is unusual, and a little disconcerting, but adds to the overall tone of the book. After reading one of this author's earlier works and not being totally impressed, I have to say that I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the storytelling here. Although this is another series starter which leaves off on a cliffhanger ending, I didn't find it as objectionable as I have with other series in the past.

I'd highly recommend this story to teens and adults, both guys and girls, who enjoy dark fantasy stories with a cerebral edge and don't overly mind being left to wonder what will happen next. ( )

Lady Wombat says:

A school story fantasy that inverts the sub-genre -- magic school here is hardly the wish-fulfilling, ego-boosting institution seen in Harry Potter and others. Much darker, YA. The one gripe I had with the book: it doesn't come to a sense of closure. Even books that are meant to be part of a series should have a sense of closure, I feel. Definitely will want to read book 2, though.

Duey, Kathleen . (2007). Skin Hunger (A Resurection of Magic). New York: Atheneum, Simon and Schuster. 368 pp. ISBN 0-689-84093-4 (Hardcover); $17.99.

This is an interwoven story of two teens, Sadima and Hahp. A magician fraud is responsible for the early death of Sadima’s mother; Hahp is banished to an apparently evil magician academy. Gradually the two stories begin to converge. I loved this book. It kept me up way past my normal late bedtime reading. The interwoven stories of Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss are juxtaposed against Hahp and the boys in the school. There is just enough of goodness in Franklin at the school to counteract the evil of Somiss. Because Franklin speaks so highly of Somiss, readers have just an inkling of doubt and wonder whether there may be some good hidden in Somiss. The pacing is brilliant. The short chapters keep readers moving right along thinking, "Oh, I will just read one more chapter..." We end this book without ever seeing how the two threads resolve themselves. I know that I will be reading the second book in this thrilling series. I loved the details about the languages of stories; how they have power and change slightly in the telling. I love the details of how Sadima learns to read (by memorizing songs, etc.). The only irritating detail (which may return in the next book) is that nothing becomes of Sadima's ability to understand animal communication past the point in which she purchases the horse when she is with Micah. Hahp has instances in which he communicates with snakes and ants and hummingbirds, which set up an expectation for something to happen because of Sadima’s ability to communicate with other species. There are lots of fascinating convergences between the two threads. Great start to the series! It is easy to understand why this is a National Book Award finalist. Highly recommended for middle school and high school, with the understanding that buyers MUST purchase at least the next book in the series when it becomes available.

This first in a new series tells the story of a farm girl who leaves home and styas with two young men who are intent on bringing magic back to the world. In a parallel story, taking place in the future, a young boy is sent away from his family to attend the school for wizards which the young men succeeding in creating. ( )