Alissa didn't believe in magic, not until she was sent on a journey to an endangered fortress known as The Holdβand discovered the gifts within herself to save it.
From
Alissa is a headstrong, pragmatic child of the foothills, whose father has been missing since she was five. One morning her mother announces that Alissa must journey to the Hold, the magical place of stories her papa had told her, where gifted people are trained to be Keepers by the mysterious Masters. Her mother has seen signs that Alissa has inherited her father's talents and must be trained. Against her will, Alissa sets out across the prewinter plains. She meets Strell, a light-hearted minstrel who has a penchant for irritating her, but who has a map. A partnership is born. Neither partner knows that at the Hold the evil Bailic has dispatched the Masters and murdered the Keepers--Alissa's father among them. Bailic wants the book of First Truth, and to rule the land with it. When Alissa and Strell arrive, Bailic soon comprehends that one of them can help him find the book. A beautifully told, simple story that looks unblinkingly at how prejudice unnecessarily reinforces misconceptions, misunderstandings, and hatred. Paula Luedtke
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Review
In her beguiling debut, Cook has woven together magical threads. . . a tale of courage and quest. . . a world rich with vivid detail. . . and characters, whether valiant or villainous, impossible to forget. --Deborah Chester
Dawn Cook's First Truth is a fun book, sure to appeal to fans (like me) of Tamora Pierce or Robin McKinley. With characters to cheer for, vicious villains, and attack birds, First Truth had everything I need in a good read. I look forward to Alissa's next adventure. --bestselling author Patricia Briggs