The Sunset Gates - Softcover

Duey, Kathleen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689853467 ISBN 13: 9780689853463

Publisher: Aladdin, 2002

Synopsis

Heart must find her family and a safe haven for the unicorns. A drawing in the book from Dunraven's castle shows the same unicorn design as her foundling blanket! Perhaps the book tells more about her family -- but she cannot read it. Searching for a teacher, she finds a blacksmith whose family forge was made by unicorn magic. His old records show that his grandfather made giant iron gates using the same design. If Heart can find those gates perhaps she will find her family -- but will Dunraven's men find her first?

About this title

About the Author:

Kathleen Duey’s works include the middle grade American Diaries and Survivors series, as well as the well-reviewed chapter book series The Unicorn’s Secret and its companion series, The Faeries’ Promise. She is also the National Book Award–nominated author of Skin Hunger. She lives in Fallbrook, California.

From Booklist:

Reviewed with Kathleen Duey's True Heart.

Gr. 2-4. Books in the early-chapter-book Unicorn's Secret series tell the story of Heart Avamir, who ran away from her caregiver in order to protect a unicorn mare and her colt. Along the way she has made friends with a group of gypsies, and in Sunset Gates, the fifth book, she accompanies them while trying to learn more about her own life. She knows that some information she needs is in a book, but learning to read while on the road is practically impossible. She eventually gets assistance from an old enemy turned friend, who not only teaches her to read but also helps her travel to the mountain where she thinks answers may lie. In True Heart, the sixth book of a projected eight, Heart attempts to reunite with the gypsies, but it's difficult to keep the unicorns safe as she travels to a festival where the gypsies are to appear. By the end, though, Heart has made friends with a young lord and acquired a bit more reading skill and another book. Duey continues to write in short, simple sentences while telling a story with texture and excitement, and it's a nice twist for children struggling with reading to find a heroine sharing their difficulties. Susan Dove Lempke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0689853467
• ISBN 13: 9780689853463
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Rayyan Omar