Prophecy of Days (The Daykeeper's Grimoire) - Softcover

Raedeke, Christy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 073871576X ISBN 13: 9780738715766

Publisher: Flux, 2010

Synopsis

Can one (super smart) girl (who just wants to be discovered) decipher the cryptic Mayan calendar prophecy and SAVE THE WORLD? When her safe-cracker mom and code-breaker dad inherit a dreary Scottish castle, sixteen-year-old Caity Mac Fireland is not happy. Ripped from her cushy life and friends in San Francisco, Caity s secret fantasy of being discovered by a Hollywood agent, talent scout, or even just a pageant coach seems more unlikely than ever. But when Caity stumbles across a hidden room in the castle, its walls covered in strange symbols, her life takes a bizarre turn. She finds herself center stage in an international conspiracy involving warring secret societies, assassins, the suppressed revelations of the Mayan Calendar and the year 2012, plus the fate of humanity. With the help of her friend Justine back home, and Alex, a gorgeous and mysterious Scottish boy, Caity must race to decipher the code and reveal its message to the world before time runs out.

About this title

About the Author

Christy Raedeke is many things, among them an award-winning writer and avid adventurer.

Raedeke's love of mysticism and thirst for ancient knowledge has taken her around the world. She has trekked in the Himalayas, floated down the River Ganges, explored the catacombs under Paris and Rome, studied feng shui in Kuala Lumpur, cloistered at an hermitage in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, spent Halloween in a 16th century Scottish castle, and gone looking for shaman among the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan.

Raedeke was the 2008 recipient of the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers Literature from Oregon Literary Arts and her writing for young adults has earned several awards and accolades. She is a member of the PEN America Center and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

When not globetrotting, Raedeke lives with her family in Oregon. Prophecy of Days is her debut novel.

Reviews

Gr 7-10–This novel includes enough New Age and conspiracy-theory material for several books but fails to supply fully realized characters whom readers will want to follow. Soon after her arrival at her family's newly inherited Scottish castle, Caity discovers a secret room next to her bedroom. Inside she finds a series of coded messages that she presents to her computer wiz dad and safe-cracker mom as her own inventions. Caity's father writes a program to decipher them, but Caity steals the program and then erases it. The codes name her as the catalyst for a change of the entire world in 2012. The 16-year-old spends the entire book concealing the meaning of the codes and her activities that center on them from her parents. They include an attack by a Bavarian agent of the FRO, a sort of Illuminati group; brief imprisonment at the hands of a person unknown; and a jaunt to Easter Island. She is aided in her quest by two wise Asian gentlemen, a hunky Scottish lad, and a mysterious Mexican man seen by no one else in the story, not to mention an origami-creating monkey. She is also assisted via the Web by her best friend back in San Francisco. Caity shows moments of heroism but also poor judgment and is generally shallow. It will be hard for readers to sustain interest without a more compelling protagonist.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WIα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Caity doesn't mind spending the summer at her parents' newly inherited Scottish castle. For one thing, there's a monkey that can do origami. For another, there's the hunky nephew of the housekeeper. But if that wasn't enough, 16-year-old Caity soon finds herself embroiled in a fantastical mystery. The castle itself, sitting on a lonely spit of land, is full of strange symbols and hidden spaces. In short order, she learns that she is to be one of the teenagers who will bring the world to a new enlightenment. First, of course, she has to quash the evil doings of some very secret societies. Just about every New Age totem one can think of gets a mention here: runes, sacred spaces, ancient prophecies, and especially the countdown to 2012. What leavens book one in the Prophecy of Days series is Caity herself. A delightful heroine, she's funny, frank, and mostly true to the way a real teen would act if she found herself in such an odd circumstance. Readers will want to follow Caity's adventure. Grades 7-10. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Flux
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 073871576X
• ISBN 13: 9780738715766
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352