FeedTuesday Tales: Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott (Book Giveaway Contest!)
January 26, 2010 in Abbott Ellen Jensen, High School Teachers, Middle School Teachers, Tuesday Tales, Young Adult Novels Tags: Book Giveaway Contest, Ellen Jensen Abbott, Watersmeet, young adult fantasy, young adult novels
Last week, I featured historical fiction author, Clara Gillow Clark, on my blog on Tuesday and Wednesday. We had a great discussion about historical fiction, and we both appreciate all your comments. This week, I am featuring YA fantasy writer, Ellen Jensen Abbott, and her book, Watersmeet. Please leave a comment below about the book or a question for Ellen for your chance to win a copy. You can also follow me on Twitter for an extra entry and/or subscribe to my RSS Feed. Just make sure to leave it in a comment that you did one of those things! The contest runs until Thursday, January 28, 8:00 p.m. CST. Now on to the book. . .
*Young adult fantasy novel
*14-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: Abisina, the main character, catches your heart from page one, and you can’t stop cheering her through her journey even after you read the last page!
Short, short summary: Abisina is an outcast in her village of Vranille because of the way she looks–no light skin, blue eyes, or blonde hair. She has dark skin and dark hair and no father around. She is only tolerated because her mother is the only healer in Vranille. She is made to feel worthless on a daily basis. Unbelievably, things get worse for Abisina when a powerful, mythic leader (Charach) comes to her village, disguised. However, Abisina can see him for whom he truly is. The villagers cannot, and they become violent against the outcasts. Abisina runs for her life, barely escaping. This starts her on a great journey to find her father and the one place where she might be accepted–Watersmeet. Along the way, she comes into contact with some fantastical creatures such as dwarves and centaurs. Her opinions of these creatures are biased because of her childhood in Vranille where these creatures are thought of as not worthy and even vile. On her adventure to find her father and who she truly is she must face her prejudices and learn to accept others as she wants to be accepted.
So, what do I do with this book?
This section is going to look a little different today because Ellen Jensen Abbott has already come up with some great activities with her teachers’ guide, and so I would love for you guys to check out her guide. Here are a few highlights from her guide:
*Questions to go with each part of the book about Vranille and prejudice, Abisina and her parents, etc.
*Reading skills practice such as comparing and contrasting Vranille and Watersmeet, making personal connections with the plot/characters, and character studies like how Abisinia is or is not heroic.
*Projects and activities like reenacting the council meeting, building a model or drawing a map of a place in the novel, or writing a scene from Watersmeet in another character’s point of view.
Click here for the complete teacher’s study guide.
Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a young adult fantasy novel that explores the themes of family, racism, adventure, friendship, and trust; and tune in tomorrow for an interview with the author. She’ll tell us where she got the idea, challenges of writing fantasy, and about a sequel in the works!
January 26th, 2010 at 6:20 am
I can’t wait to read this. Even if I don’t win, I’m still going to get a copy. Thanks, Margo!
January 26th, 2010 at 7:11 am
I admire writers who can create a fantasy world from their imagination yet can create a real character with hopes and fears whom we can connect with. This book sounds like it has a lot to offer and I would enjoy reading it.
January 26th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Ooh… That sounds really good.
January 26th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Bravo for a character who appears on the cover as she is described in the book! Did Ellen have input into that decision? Or did the publisher just get it right? I’d be interested to know….thanks!
January 26th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Hi Ellen,
Congratulations on the publication of Watersmeet! So honored to have been your mentor at the Rutgers One on One conference once upon a time. I always knew that your book was special! Bravo! Well done! I’d love to hear from you. claragillowclark at gmail dot com.
January 26th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
WOW! Clara and Ellen, it is such a small world, especially in cyberspace. That is so cool that you two know each other, and that I met you both through the Internet!
You both are terrific authors. Thanks to everyone who has left a comment today. You are right, Leanne, with the recent controversy with book covers, it is amazing that this one came out right! Thank goodness it did.
Margo
January 26th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
How great to hear such nice comments! And Clara! I will definitely be in touch. You were a fabulous mentor!
Thanks for the question about my cover. I am really thankful that I avoided the current controversy. Because Abisina’s skin color is such a critical plot point, I wanted to be sure she looked right on the cover. In the first two versions I saw, she was not dark enough, and I spoke with my editor. They did shade her skin, but I didn’t think they went far enough. Thankfully, the publisher read the book right before it was finalized and pointed out that the cover needed to be darker, so they made the change. Whew! I hadn’t heard about the issues with *Liar* at the time. In fact, it never occured to me that the race of the face on the cover was a marketing issue. I just am one of those readers who is bothered when the illustrations/covers don’t match the story! I feel for the authors whose books are in the news now because of cover issues, but as a teacher, I’m glad this subject is being discussed and brought to readers’ attention.