For a smaller novel, this book wasn't lacking in breadth, characters and story.
An enjoyable read, and a world I would like to see more wrote about. ( )

Thematically very similar to some of van Scyoc's other novels, and not quite as excellent as the Sunstone trilogy - but still an enjoyable coming-of-age story.
In a new land, some wish to form new and better ways of living. But others wish to bring the old ways with them. Dara's sister makes a drastic choice to avoid submitting to old customs - but Dara herself tries to forge a bridge between different cultures, as she herself learns about her unknown heritage - a heritage which includes communing with wild birds.
A sensitivity and effort to compassionately portray differing points of view lend depth to a simple story. ( )