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Summary: I wish Yolen wrote more books for adults!
Review: I've read a lot of Yolen's books, the ones intended for kids and the ones intended for "older kids." If you're an older kid as I am, I would think it nearly impossible to not be haunted by _Sister Light, Sister Dark,_ _White Jenna,_ and _Briar Rose._ Now, I've got _The One-Armed Queen_ to look forward to! But such a fantasist, as Yolen is, I could wish, would write more beautiful, lyrical, funny, very sad books for adults too.
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Summary: Excellent, Rich Series, Great For Young Women
Review: Jane Yoeln evokes rich culture and characters of depth and interest in this wonderful set of two books- Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna. I loved it when I first read it in college... I loved it through the trials of grad school... I now collect Yolen books because of it. I always wished Tolkien could write solid female characters... now I have some to work with in the mind's eye. It also serves and an excellent comic relief for folks in academia, being told that their theories of the past are crazy...
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Summary: Great "Alta"
Review: Jane Yolen breathed new life into the tired old Amazon stories with "The Book of Great Alta," the first two books of the unique Alta trilogy. Including "Sister Light Sister Dark" and "White Jenna," this is a mythic-hero/coming-of-age tale with a twist -- the mythic hero is a strong girl.
"Sister Light Sister Dark" introduces Jenn, a baby girl orphaned three times: Her mother died in childbirth, the midwife died while taking her away, and the warrior woman who adopted her was also killed. She's taken in collectively by the followers of Great Alta, a benevolent goddess. But when the hame is threatened by war and death, Jenna learns of the prophecy of a white-haired child who will be their savior.
"White Jenna" picks up where "Sister Light Sister Dark" left off: Jenna is reluctantly accepting her fate as the legendary Anna. Now she and her two pals are trying to warn the other hames about evil Lord Kalas's attacks, and along the way they run into Carum, the prince whose life Jenna saved in the previous book. (Naturally, they have fallen in love) Now they are trying to raise followers to overthrow usurper, but will they be killed when they try?
Most stories of independent, amazonian tribes of women are unrealistic and dedicate their plots to tubthumping. Jane Yolen never falls into that trap. Her tale is both delicate and strong, with plenty of pseudo-medieval history nuggets, enticing fantasy and slam-bang battle scenes.
Yolen's writing is detailed and evocative, especially when she writes battle scenes. She also creates the whole religion and civilization around Great Alta very well. It seems like a medieval civilization that could actually have existed -- women who are farmers, hunters, warriors, priestesses, cooks, and anything else they need to be.
Most intriguingly, Yolen paints this fictional civilization in the Dales as real; she litters the text with scholarly reports, analysis of old legends about the Anna, and old folksongs from the Dales. At the same time, she injects some extra fantasy with the "dark sisters," a sort of shadowy alter ego that Jenna and the other women have.
Jenna herself is a likable heroine. She doesn't seem to do quite as much as a chosen-one role might suggest. But Yolen's portrayal of a reluctant teen who doesn't see her own potential is excellent. Carum is a good love interest, never becoming too gooey and possessing strength and personality of his own. Most of the supporting characters are given their own quirks to make them interesting.
Want to read about a strong, intelligent mythic hero who happens to be a woman? Jane Yolen creates just one such character in Jenna of the "Books of Great Alta." A rich and original fantasy story.
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Summary: Hard to put down
Review: Jane Yolen has created a world and a story reminiscent of some old celtic myth. In fact you may wonder as you read whether or not there exists somewhere a legend much like this one sometime in our own world's past. The story centers around a central character named White Jenna who is raised by a community of women warriors similar to the Amazons. White Jenna is prophecied of and will reunite the (Sisters) with the world. She will bring change that some Sisters embrace and some resist to the bitter end. White Jenna is rescued as a baby in the forest and raised by a Light and Dark Sister. If you want to know what a light and dark sister are you'll have to read the book. Jane Yolen explains that concept much better than I can. The first part of the book is about the early life of White Jenna and her friends growing up in the community of sisters. The book really takes off after all this when Jenna and her friends have to go out on their missions. This is similar to young american indians going out into the wild and proving their manhood, having visions, and getting their spirit names. Alot of the happenings in this book parallel legends and myths from many sources. Once Jenna sets out on her mission things start to happen and the pace of the story really takes off and seldom slows until the end. Oh but don't worry about the ending. The ending is very satisfying and unlike many books, appropriate. This book has romance, fight scenes, adventure, war, fantasy, myth, quests, and all the elements one looks for in a really great fantasy. I was enchanted and spellbound as I sacrificed sleep to find out what happens next. Jane Yolen writes mostly children's books and you get a sense of that by the way this book reads but don't let that fool you into thinking it was written for children only. This book is definitely for kids of all ages. Enjoy!
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Summary: Two books in one
Review: Originally printed as two books (Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna), this is a book about an orphan girl who is taken in by this tribe of women. It follows her growing up, becoming a woman, and fulfulling a prophecy. This book provides an awesome look into Goddess culture societies, and is a great buy for anyone looking for a book with strong female characters. This is, by far, my favorite book that I own (except I own it as the 2 separate books).
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Summary: Two books in one
Review: Originally printed as two books (Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna), this is a book about an orphan girl who is taken in by this tribe of women. It follows her growing up, becoming a woman, and fulfulling a prophecy. This book provides an awesome look into Goddess culture societies, and is a great buy for anyone looking for a book with strong female characters. This is, by far, my favorite book that I own (except I own it as the 2 separate books).
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Summary: Gives you the feeling of beauty and mystery.
Review: Sister Light Sister Dark and White Jenna entrap you and hold you tighy until your finished. These stories, of a young girl unable to accept her place in the world, inspire and captivate you. I couldn't put either of these books down and when I finally had to, I ran straight to the library to find out if there was a third. No such luck. I would highly suggest these tales to women of all ages. I read it when I was 14.
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Summary: A master storyteller and myth-maker in full flower
Review: The Books of Great Alta, a compliation volume consisting of 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna', has just kept me up until 5:30 in the morning. I last read these books when they first came out, but have been reminded of them since and was delighted to find that both are still readily available. They are examples of Jane Yolen's brilliance as a storyteller and her profound skill as a maker of myths to rival any writer you care to name.Part of Yolen's genius lies in her skillful weaving of reality and fantasy, the melding of myth and pseudo-history (with some quiet digs at modern historians along the way - but that's just an added extra) to form a convincing whole. The book is full of strong, memorable characters, most especially her central heroine, Jenna. Jenna is human enough both to want to be the Anna, the chosen one, and at the same time to want to reject that destiny. Fantasy and reality, blended and woven, but not like a piece of cloth, flat and two-dimensional - Jane's work is more like a fine basket, with height, width and depth, filled with brilliant writing and replete with original ideas that for all their newness still resonate at a deep level. Her concept of the dark sisters has introduced a new archetype to modern myth, and it is so powerful and rings so true that from this time forth we will wonder how we did not know it before. These books belong on your shelf if the old songs are in your heart (and she provides the songs as well!) and if you have ever seen your dark sister in the mirror, only waiting to be called into being. Jane Yolen is a master of her art, and this is one of her many master-works. May you enjoy it as much as I have.
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Summary: Haunting book....very good read.
Review: This book is one of the most haunting, intense and interesting with handfuls of humour thrown in, books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Ms. Yolen makes the reader actually believe in 'dark sisters', 'The Goddess Alta', 'Jenna' and several other characters and happenings of the story. I would recomend this book to anyone, young or old, male or female. I liked it so much, I took my on-line handle from my favorite character. (spelled slightly different in my case, however)
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Summary: This book belongs in your library
Review: This is a simply amazing novel. Even if you don't like the fantasy genre, it's a good read. Particularly interesting are the ways the Myths, the Legends, the Histories, and the Story all merge together and all differentiate. Something to ponder while you read this is: "what is true?" Is "the story" correct? Is "the History" correct? And who wrote "The Story"? I'm still puzzling those over, and it makes for quite a good read.
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