Alia Waking

I so enjoyed reading this book. It was a surprise find. I brought kids to the junvenile section and found a prize for myself! I highly recommend this book and it's great for any child that can read a chapter book. It's on my list of books to buy. Enjoy!

Okay first off I am 32...not that my age should exclude me from reading young peoples literature...but my point is this book was as exciting to me as it would be to a young reader. I saw on Laura Williams McCaffrey's website that she enjoyed the Lloyd ALexander books. They were some of my favorite fantasy as a youth. In my late youth, I now add Alia Waking to my list . The story of Alia took me to a new but believable world. The struggle between good and evil, right and wrong exists in both the vastness of this new world and amidst the personal relationships Laura Williams McCaffrey develops in her characters; characters of substance and complexity who are believable even as they develop their magic and special skills so foreign and "fantastic" to our world. The book took me on twists and turns with the various twists in both plot and subplot. Nothing is as it seems for Alia. Finding out how she deals with change and comes of age is told in an adventurous tale with sound moral and ethical undertones. I look forward to Laura William McCaffrey's next book...and perhaps Alia's next adventure?

This book grabbed me from the first page, and pulled me along excitedly through a series of plot twists and very believable character transformations. I couldn't put it down! By the end of 2 days my imagination was entwined with L.W. McCaffrey's vividly developed world, and I began my current and impatient wait for a sequel. Alia Waking is full of strong characters and relevant social situations that deal honestly with personal loyalty, prejudice, self-esteem; and - on a larger level - war, bigotry and the politicizing of religion in a world not much different than ours. A fresh insightful story by a promising first-time author.

I was looking for a new fantasy novel and this sounded like a good read so I bought it and am thrilled that I did. You read and want to continue right through to the end. The characters are great and the story captivating, both on a " I want to escape into a different world " level and on a level that explores some pretty solid and beefy themes about making choices that are based on personal versus accepted social reasons. I would recommend this to anyone, it was very reminiscent of the early McKinley works ( a Knot in the grain and such ). You won't regret you bought it.

Alia, a young woman in a culture that provides few exceptions to wife-and-mother roles for women, has spent her whole life practicing to be chosen for the keenten, the warrior sisterhood. When she and her best friend take a chance opportunity to capture two young "enemies," she hopes that this will win her favor in the keenten's eyes. Unfortunately for her own peace of mind, Alia's habit of reflecting on her actions to see if they meet the demands of "honor" required by the keenten forces her to look at the dark side of her own culture's limiting beliefs. As a result, she feels compelled to uphold a standard of truth that sets her apart from others in her community -- including the keenten. This story, with its fascinating culture and believeable characters, would be well worth reading just for those reasons. What sets it apart, though, is Alia's growing understanding of and respect for a community she has hardly noticed in the past -- the Healers -- and her discovery that losing her connection with the mind set of the keenten has freed her to walk her own unique and fascinating path, providing her with life choices far richer than she had known before. Readers are part of Alia's reflections , her evaluation of received beliefs, her path toward finding her own true self -- learning important life skills as an exciting adventure. The limitations of either/or beliefs and the value of thinking "outside the box" are an integral thread of the wonderful plot, rather than an inserted message.The culture Alia lives in is fascinating; the story is exciting; she's a normally flawed and very admirable person. I'm very much hoping that this is only the first book about this world!