One for Sorrow, Two for Joy: 6

I found this book to reach into the depths of the heart emotionally. I loved so much. It is an epic adventure of bravery, love, and of course sorrow.

The story One for Sorrow Two for Joy is about Birddom's struggles with an evil population of birds. THe magpies intend on total conquest and are opposed by the last of the robins, Kirrick,and the snowy owl,Tomar. Along with some drastic moves and daring escapes, there is also romance, violence and a suspense. I recomend this book for ages 10 and up for some gory pages and the dialogue may be hard to follow along. Also, it relates to Kathrine Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole so if you liked them then this is a addition.

Any who enjoyed Watership Down and similar animal-based fantasies will relish One For Sorrow, Two For Joy, which provides an epic story of animal courage and adventure. Tyranny and freedom in the bird world come alive in a moving story of magpie/crow alliances and the struggle of smaller birds to survive. It's up to the Great Owl to fight nest by nest for freedom.

The good guys here include about every bird group except crows and magpies. We meet some wise old owls, fearsome eagles, salty seagulls, and heroic robins, among many others. In Birddom, alliances must be made to stop the predatory, genocidal magpies and their two charismatic and murdurous leaders. So for some nice skyward journeys, and even meetings with Man, this nifty,surreal, but realistic fantasy is tough to beat. Two criticisms (1) the rape and oedipus complex action should have been eliminated, to make this book a real family undertaking, (2) the title should be more bird-like, less like a soap opera...Still, a real fun book, and I'm not usually one to read animal fantasies!

Kirrick the last of the robins saw his whole species, including his mate die at the hands of the magpies. The leader of the magpies, Slyekin, ordered his followers to kill all the small species of birds and he sent his second in command Traska to murder Kirrick. The little robin asks the wise owl Tomar what to do about the genocide being practiced on the small avians; the wise owl has a plan to stop the magpies from killing their little brethren. Kirrick is sent to Darreal, the leader of the Falcons, Storne of the Eagles and Kraken of the Seabirds to gather their brethren to help them fight the magpie. During his journey, Traska, Kirric's second-in-command enlists the aids of the magpies to help him find Kirrick but along the way the robin finds allies who help him out with the evil, sadistic magpie. After the war is over in Birddom, a new one breaks out in Wingland with Traska and his new allies trying to take Slyekin's place as leader of the magpies who must fight his son brought up to hate him. Cross Watership Down with Jonathan Livingston Seagull and readers will have some idea what the allegorical ONE FOR SORROW TWO FOR JOY is like. For such a little bird Kirrick has a big heart because he risks his life several times to find allies for his cause. With just one book, Clive Woodall established himself as a budding superstar telling a symbolic morality tale of courage. Harriet Klausner