“The Shamer’s Daughter”

Author: Lene Kaaberbol

Since I pulled this book off the shelf in the junior section of the library, I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to like it. But to my surprise I liked it very much. In fact, after reading it, I thought it shouldn’t be classified as a junior fiction because of the intense and violent scenes. (Something I need to speak with my library about.) Plus, I wouldn’t want my younger siblings reading it because the whole thing was focused on cruel murders and innocent deaths.  But if it were a YA book, I would say that it was very interesting and exciting. I also enjoyed reading the many characters, because they were so much fun and a bit unique. There were even large vicious dragons in it as well!...
(Can’t forget about the Dragons!)

If you look into their eyes they can uncover your greatest fear and horrible crimes. It’s considered a gift to the rare Shamers, but for Dina it’s a nightmare. Why did she have to inherit her mothers’ “gift”?  Making friends is something she was never able to do, and its friends that she wants. One day her mother is called away to search the soul of a man charged with a triple murder at Dunark. After being gone longer than expected, Dina finds herself at the heart of Dunark. She involuntarily gets tangled into hiding the innocent, running from the guilty and trying to save her mother from death by dragons. With the shamer’s gift, it’s hard to blend into the crowd and even harder when a shamer girl is being searched for.

The Shamer Chronicles has four books in all, this is the first. So, as usual, I hadn’t expected it to end completely. But, I thought the ending and the whole story itself was wonderful. I could definitely relate to Dina, and I think anyone who is a teenager and older would enjoy it too. It’s fast paced, with fantasy and a neat concept about the eyes that reveal your darkest secrets.