The Taken (Foxcraft, Book 1) - Hardcover

Iserles, Inbali

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545690811 ISBN 13: 9780545690812

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015

Synopsis

The first book in a thrilling fantasy trilogy starring one of the animal kingdom's most hunted heroes. Foxcraft is full of excitement and heart, and a touch of magic.

Isla and her brother are two young foxes living just outside the lands of the furless -- humans. The life of a fox is filled with dangers, but Isla has begun to learn mysterious skills meant to help her survive.

Then the unthinkable happens. Returning to her den, Isla finds it set ablaze and surrounded by strange foxes, and her family is nowhere in sight. Forced to flee, she escapes into the cold, gray world of the furless.

Now Isla must navigate this bewildering and deadly terrain, all while being hunted by a ruthless enemy. In order to survive, she will need to master the ancient arts of her kind -- magical gifts of cunning known only to foxes. She must unravel the secrets of foxcraft.

About this title

About the Author

Inbali Iserles is an award-winning writer and an irrepressible animal lover. She is one of the team of authors behind the New York Times bestselling Survivors series, writing under the pseudonym of Erin Hunter. Her first book, The Tygrine Cat, won the 2008 Calderdale Children’s Book of the Year Award. Together with its sequel, The Tygrine Cat: On the Run, it was listed among The Independent’s “50 books every child should read."

Inbali attended Sussex and Cambridge Universities. For many years she lived in central London, where a fascination with urban foxes inspired her Foxcraft trilogy. She has recently moved to Cambridge with her family, including her principal writing mascot, Michi, who looks like an Arctic fox, acts like a cat, but is in fact a dog.

From School Library Journal

Gr 3–6—Isla's life is carefree and comfortable, although she lives in the Great Snarl with Ma, Fa, Greatma, and her inseparable and more talented twin, Pirie. Suddenly, all is snatched from her when she lags behind and comes back to her den to find a shulk of mean-looking foxes, led by the one-eyed Karka, burning down her home. She takes off before she can be captured, but finds herself in the dangerous world of the furless (humans) following the deathway (highway) and unable to eat anything more than beetles and worms. The young kit soon finds herself in the company of a dog. When she begins to see his true shape, he wa'akkirs (shape shifts) to reveal his true self: the beautiful red fox Siffrin, sent by the Elders to retrieve Pirie. He teaches Isla about Foxcraft, the cunning magic of the fox, and she is able to connect with Pirie in her dreams as they continue their search. But all is not as it appears with Siffrin, and Isla realizes that he might not be a friend when she catches sight of the half rose mark on him. The mark is that of the foxes of Karka's shulk, those called the Taken, who are controlled by the evil Mage. With so many questions remaining at the end, there is sure to be another installment in this series that will explore more parts and places of the fox world. Reminiscent of the "Warriors" series (HarperCollins), to which the author contributed, and similar to Kathryn Lasky's "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series (Scholastic), this title takes the actual habits and attributes of real foxes and mixes in magic and a complex social structure. This book will be enjoyed by readers who like well-crafted fantasy of the furry kind. VERDICT A solid contribution to anthropomorphized animal stories, though not completely original in concept.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0545690811
• ISBN 13: 9780545690812
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272