She could undo locks with a twitch of her fingers. They were nothing special to look at, but she could slip a bracelet from a woman’s wrist with a touch as soft as a breath. No, Nin was a master criminal with hands like magic. Being pretty wasn’t what made her memorable. Old enough to be her grandmother, Nin was a squat woman with matted hair and a face as tough as rawhide. “Word travels quick when you’ve got a face as pretty as mine, girl.” “I didn’t think the news would spread so fast.” In their trail-worn gear, Sefia and Nin would have blended in well enough, if not for the redcoats. Thought this town would be small enough for us to escape notice, but that doesn’t seem likely now.”Ĭrouched in the undergrowth beside her, Sefia surveyed the other shoppers, who carried baskets or towed rattling carts with burlap nests for their infants, the parents calling sharply after dirt-smudged children if they wandered too far. “No good.” Nin grunted, shifting the pile of furs in her arms. At their waists, their sword hilts and gun grips glinted in the gray morning light.Īny law-abiding citizen would have been happy to see them. The gravel path that cut through the tangled jungle was teeming with people, and the mounted Oxscinian soldiers rode above the sea of foot traffic like lords in a parade: their fine red jackets unblemished, their black boots polished to a high shine. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. With overlapping stories of swashbuckling pirates and merciless assassins, The Reader is a brilliantly told adventure from an extraordinary new talent. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed-and punish the people responsible. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book-a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive.

After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. A stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of, perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone

The reader chee