Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read--Only Minimal Mistakes
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now reading Hidden Truth, the second in the trilogy. The storyline of this book is extremely original, and very attention-holding. As a writer myself, I have to say there are a few places that I was confused about. For example, when Alissa was leaving home, it said she had set down on the step, then shoots to her making a camp. At first, I thought she was camping outside her house since her mom wouldn't let her back in. Little things like that kinda stuck out to me, which is why I gave four stars, but I still love the book to death.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read--Only Minimal Mistakes
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now reading Hidden Truth, the second in the trilogy. The storyline of this book is extremely original, and very attention-holding. As a writer myself, I have to say there are a few places that I was confused about. For example, when Alissa was leaving home, it said she had set down on the step, then shoots to her making a camp. At first, I thought she was camping outside her house since her mom wouldn't let her back in. Little things like that kinda stuck out to me, which is why I gave four stars, but I still love the book to death.
Rating: 
Summary: Enticing
Review: I would like to say that the cover drew me to this book, apparently I'm not alone in this. I very much enjoyed First Truth, and am currently enjoying its sequel Hidden Truth. It is true that the hanging ending was unexpected but it kept me interested. While I've never read any books by Tamora Pierce, I do enjoy Anne McCaffery, Terry Brooks and Anne Bishop and i do believe that I have found a new favorite, Dawn Cook. I certainly hope to see more from her in the future.Cheri Butler, 19 years old, Kentucky
Rating:
Summary: WOW! Enticing and Refreshing!
Review: If I were to say one thing to someone who was brousing in a book store or a library and picked up this book, it would probably be the following: "Get it before someone else snatches it out of your hands!" Okay, so maybe I'm being too enthusiastic. The medeival-ish, magic-ish (yes, two of the things I look for in a good cover) appeal of the book's cover drew me to it. But once I flipped open the first few pages, I quickly forgot the cover and rushed to finish the book. Alissa doesn't belong; she is a driven antoganist with exceptional qualities--both physical and mental--that keep her apart from the rest of the world. Her magician Keeper father disapeared when she was a young girl; but now she's nearly twenty and her mother is sending her out in the world to follow in the footsteps of her father. Against her will, Alissa leaves her dear mother and heads toward the mysterious Hold,, the place of magical Keepers. On the way, Alissa meets up with the likeable Strell, a wandering musician who discovers that in the years that he left his family to become a bard, that they all have been killed in a great flood. Both alone and friendless, the two agree to travel with one another despite boiling tempers between them and a bad first start. (Hmmm, could Cook possibly be leading up to something here? I hope so.) But once they reach the Hold they realize their only hope is to trust one another and battle the evil astrayed Keeper who now controls the empty Hold. Can they keep Alissa's Keeper powers a secret from the jealous Bailey and solve the mystery behind the emptyness of the Hold and Alissa's father's death? An excellent, refreshing piece of fiction! Dawn Cook provide's a delicious stew for us to sip on--unfortunately, the book (which deceivingly looks long with its 250-some pages at first) is very short. In other words, you'd be best to pick up the sequel, Hidden Truth, in the same book-stop or you'll be in withdrawal until you get it. Unfortunately, all those, including me, who have already gulped down the first two novels, are waiting awkwardly for the third course. I would reccomend this novel is for advanced readers. (At least teen) but I assure you any adult would delight in it also. Cook has designed a promising menu in her excellent plot, served us two helpings and has more coming! Excuse the puns on food, but this book is truly excellent. And the series? A set of delicasies! Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Cute boook
Review: In the first few pages of First Truth the fiery heroine, Alissa, is forcefully sent on a quest by her mother to find her long lost father's book and the Hold, the mysterious place rumored to be a training ground for wizard-like people. Along the way she meets Strell, a funny musician, and a mind invading, well meaning disembodied voice called Useless. Of course when she reaches the Hold all is not as it should be.
Alissa is your typical huge temper that gets you into trouble heroine and Strell is just the kind of guy that provokes that temper. The author somewhat clumsily throws them together. In fact, the whole beginning of the book is awkward, but once Ms Cook gets past the preliminaries, First Truth is a good light read. It's a nice break between the gargantuan and serious fantasy books.
Rating:
Summary: "Truth" is well worth it
Review: Many fantasy books simply retread the cliches, with a too-large cast and an attempt at epic storytelling at the expense of personal characterization. Dawn Cook, like Kristen Britain, is one of the new authors who does not fall into this trap. Alissa comes from a mixed marriage of the plainsmen and the hill people; her father, a Keeper, vanished when she was very young and her mother has raised her alone. Alissa has long since stopped believing that the Hold, a place where magic is taught, is a real place. But her mother insists that it is, and one day she sends Alissa off with her pet kestrel, Talon, to be taught how to be a Keeper. Alissa soon meets up with a plainsman musician, Strell, who recently returned to find that his family is dead. The two grate on each other immediately, with Strell prejudiced against Alissa's hill upbringing and Alissa angry about what she sees as Strell's plains snobbery. But Strell has something that Alissa needs: A map, drawn by her father and traded away to Strell by her mother. Strell doesn't want to give it up, and agrees reluctantly to accompany Alissa on what she sees as a fool's quest. Except it isn't a fool's quest; a psychic power calling itself "Useless" possesses Alissa's body, and when the two arrive at the Hold, they find only one man in the entire building. Bailic is looking for a book known as the "First Truth," created by a powerful Master and put in the keeping of Alissa's father. And now he believes that Alissa and Strell can lead him to it... It was refreshing to read this book, in a market flooded with cliched sword-and-sorcery stories. Cook does not seem to concern herself with making this book an epic, or cramming it full of complicated cultures and peoples. She focuses instead on two cultures, different and divided, and the Keepers of the Hold, which encompasses both. The magic is low-key, despite a major explosion late in the book; the descriptions of the tracings and wards are very evocative. One interesting aspect of this book is the treatment of prejudice; both Strell and Alissa have prejudices and misconceptions about the other's culture, and these prejudices are comparable to Bailic's hatred of halfbreeds (like Alissa) and the hill culture. Very few authors could successfully pull off giving the heroes the same flaws as the villains, but Cook does so without a feeling of strain. The travelling near the beginning drags on a little long, with only camping out to break the tension; the dialogue is endearingly real to life, even if it is a little repetitive when the two protagonists are offended. And the dual nature of the raku is intriguingly thought of, and will undoubtedly be touched on again in future. Alissa is a pleasantly unconventional heroine in a genre of warrior women; she gets soggy, sulky, unhappy, irrational, and has no desire to leave her comfortable life for what she sees as a myth. Yet she overcomes many of these to become a more understanding person. Strell also is trying his best to be nice to Alissa, but often seems to put his foot in his mouth. Bailic, unlike many villains, is given motivations and past grudges to explain his current behavior. And "Useless" comes across as obnoxiously helpful, knowledgeable, and wry in his observations. As there is no smut, graphic violence or profanity, children and teenagers as well as adults can read this book. Fans of Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip will undoubtedly enjoy this simple but deep tale. The only flaw is that readers will have to wait for the sequel...
Rating:
Summary: excellent fantasy
Review: The world is divided into two groups of people who barely tolerate each other, but depend on one another to survive. The people living in the foothills are farmers while those who live in the plains are crafters. Alissa is a half-breed born of a plains mother and a farmer father disliked by both groups. When Alissa turns nineteen her mother realizes she has inherited her father's magical talents and sends her to the Hold where as a keeper she will learn to control her magic from a master. On the road she meets Strell, a wandering minstrel born into a plains family. They join forces and journey together to the Hold where they meet an insane keeper waiting for them to find what he needs to conquer the world. They will defeat him or die trying. The two protagonists of this novel are very brave and admirable people because they know they are walking into danger yet do it anyway. They learn the folly of divisiveness and see first hand how good can conquer evil when people work together. Though FIRST TRUTH may be Dawn Cook's debut novel, readers will place this excellent tale on their keeper shelf. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: DONT BELIEVE THE FIRST REVIEW!!!
Review: This book,is simply amazing and i'm only on page 154!!!They just reached the hold!!!MR. cook goes into great (and needed)detail on things.This book is great,just believe me even though i'm 9!!
Rating:
Summary: Move over Harry Potter
Review: This is an absolute joy of a book to read. While it is set as a young adult fantasy, the world created and the well drawn characters make it much more. Mix a dash of magic and mystery, a young woman coming to grip with her gifts, and a budding romance and the stage is set for a magical, compelling tale. I can hardly wait for the next chapter of Alissa and Strell.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a quiet night at home
Review: This is the type of book you can drift into easily before bed. It's far from boring, but it's not so exciting that you can't put it down. I liked the main character. Alissa was easy to relate to. Because she's a half-breed, and has to deal with a twisted sort of racism, the book is magical but has an undercurrent of normalcy. What I really liked about First Truth was that the author made the attraction between Alissa and Strell clear without focusing on it. Far too many fantasy books turn into mushy romance stories with weak plots. But Dawn Cook manages to keep it real.
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