Rating: 
Summary: The writing is good, but some of the characters are poor
Review: For instance, Beriel is a well-developed character, but the author assumes that you believe Beriel should be Queen. Her brother, now the King, ordered men to rape her and sent her away to marry someone and cover up the shame of having an 'illegitimate' child. He sounds like a lousy king, but Beriel is hardly better. Ms. Voigt says repeatedly that Princess Beriel is "imperious," as if that were a good thing. Her Highness has no charisma, never takes advice from anyone, behaves "like a Queen," which is to say acts overbearing and haughty, and thinks bossing people around is her birthright. Her *only* good traits are her honesty and intelligence, but the author doesn't seem to see Beriel in that light.Elske is also an enigma. In the first several pages, when she is still among the Volk-people (who are too wierd for me) she's described as "bright-hearted." None of the women can bring themselves to hate her, even though they're jealous; Elske is just too wonderful. Then, when Elske is helping Beriel disguise her pregnacy and somehow cover up the child, the girl decides that she won't kill it unless she has to. Ms. Voigt points this out as a change from when she was a cold hearted Volk-girl and used to help her grandmother kill unwanted babies, which is true. But isn't that inconsistent with the bright-hearted, sweet wonderful little girl business? As I said in the heading, the writing is excellent. It seems pretentious at first, because it uses archaic, flowery expressions such as "for" to mean because and extralong sentences. However, when you get used to it, it flows well and you realize that Cynthia Voigt actually has something to be pretentious *about.*
All in all it's a well-written, beautifully crafted story about annoying people in a wierd, irrelevent world.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice fantasy/adventure
Review: For readers of fantasy books, this is a good choice. My only warning: it starts out rather grimly, but don't panic, it only gets better. The ending is perfect, and I love the fact that the characters have depth, and motives, not to mention Elske is a powerful female character, with intelligence and purpose.
Rating:
Summary: Elske
Review: From the beginning, Elske pulls you into a different world. From the first sentence, Cynthia Voigt plants curiosity into your mind, and soon the story wraps around you. Elske is only 12 years old, but she is the Death Maiden and must follow her King into death. Her grandmother saves her, however, by secretly taking her place. Thus, Elske travels North, to a city whose ways, whose people, are unfamiliar. But Elske, with her honesty and open smile, makes her way in this world. When she is fifteen she becomes maidservant to Beriel, the rightful Queen of a distant and isolated Kingdom. Beriel is willful, proud, and angry; but she is a Queen through and through and Elske chooses to serve her and help her reclaim her throne.
Moving through various landscapes, with richly drawn characters, the thought provoking Elske is a worthwhile read.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing, disgusting book. Big disappointment from Voigt.
Review: I agree with L. Johnson. This book is totally inappropriate for young girls. If you are a concerned parent reading this do not let your children read it. Let them keep their childhood a little longer. Even though I am nineteen this book, starting out with ritual rape and baby sacrifices, left a bad taste in my mouth. I do not feel we need to dwell on such negative aspects of human behavior. I felt that the writing was also poor. The Elske character was flat and not well developed. I also read The Wings of a Falcon and was disappointed with it too. This whole series is a bust. After reading the wonderful Dicey's Song and Homecoming I was very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Major concern
Review: I bought this book for my 12 year old daughter as a Christmas present, based on the fabulous reviews and age recommendations I read on this web site. A couple of weeks after Christmas, I sat down with both of my daughters (ages 12 and 10) and started reading it out loud to them (a tradition we started several years ago when we organized a mother-daughter reading group in our neighborhood). Much to my surprise, the first chapter dealt with ritual rape and human sacrifice. Excuse me--this WAS NOT what I had bargained for! It ruined the book and my respect for the author right off the bat. Because of the way Voigt has set these repulsive scenes at the beginning of the book, there is absolutely no development of character or situation to lend any moral context. The result is a VERY confusing message---the reader understands implicitly that she should relate to Elske, the central character, but the people around her are doing unthinkably awful things. Generalizations about the "evil nature" of men and of the "generous nature" of baby-killing are extraordinarily upsetting. In fact, I found myself reading several paragraphs ahead silently, and then glossing over the disgusting passages trying to get to the beginning of the plot. I ended up doing this ALL THE WAY through the first chapter! What a fiasco. I did not want to have to worry about every turn of the page, so we stopped reading Elske and moved on to a different book. Beware other mothers of young girls! Do not purchase this book if you want to preserve your daughters' childhood for a few more years. Let the older set deal with these issues as they come of age. I will set this book aside for at least another six years, and may not get it off the shelf EVER AGAIN. If you are part of a mother-daughter book group, DO NOT EVER suggest this book for your group to read. You will be banned from the group for life.
Rating: 
Summary: Not sure if this book is fantasy or historical fiction...
Review: I guess I would have to call it "historical fantasy." When I read the book, I was unaware that is was part of a larger series, or for that matter if any of the cultures portrayed were parts of actual ancient cultures. That said, Elske is the story of a young girl who escapes the "Wolfers", a barbaric band of people. She eventually ends up in Trastad, where she makes contact with a women rumored to be a queen, Beriel. I disliked Beriel, and felt that after Elske met her, that the book went downhill. I also wondered why the painting shown on the front of the book was chosen, for it is the same painting used for "Girl in a Pearl Earring", a much better work.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and thought-provoking!
Review: I just finished the Jackaroo series, with Elske, and enjoyed every book! While I was somewhat disappointed with the emotional "detachment" of the characters in Wings of the Falcon, Elske re-establishes Voight's strength of characterization and imagery. Although I can understand concern for some of the content of Elske, the story does not dwell upon violence or "adult behavior" in the least, nor does it deal explicitly with such, and focuses, instead, on Elske's development from an innocent girl, raised in a barbaric society, to a mature and courageous woman. In truth, maturity is required to wholly grasp the rich lessons of the story; and therefore, the story is more appropriate for older teens and adults. Once again, however, I found myself wrapped up in the world of the Kingdom and the fates of two young women struggling to overcome their foes in the face of prejudice (toward women), tyranny, and death. A rewarding tale!
Rating:
Summary: Elske- a book of lost identity
Review: I loved Elske! I think that it is great for people trying to find themselves. In the book, Elske sepertes herself as much as possible from her past. She tries to start anew, a chose an identity of someone she wants and will try to become.
Rating:
Summary: Elsk
Review: I loved this book. It had an original plot and amazing charictarization, and details. The book was captivating and easy to follow. I highly reccomend this book to all age groups.
Rating: 
Summary: a kingdom book
Review: I read the first three books set in this 'world' of cynthia voigt's, though while the 'kingdom' is mentioned none of the other books are set in it. I enjoyed each book thoroughly and found little to have qualms over with Elske. the beginning of the book is dark, but getting beyond that is what makes it worthwhile. here's a girl who's future had been planned (namely death) who now has a chance to be something else. unlike other stories where the young girl survives something horrific and comes back to meet justice to the evil-doers forcibly Elske builds a life a for herself. by being herself and being true to people she becomes the confidant to young beriel. beriel who IS on a mission to deal out justice to those who did her wrong. the two become close, sharing a common link to their pasts and learn how to survive in the world. its a novel about what it means to belong and just how important one's heritage can be (or not be), at least to me.
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