Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability — with a glance, a gesture, a word — to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill.

In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.

"Le Guin's (the Earthsea Cycle) fantasy, a brilliant exploration of the power and responsibility of gifts, begins as 16-year-old narrator Orrec reflects upon recent events. Emmon, a runaway Lowlander, comes to Caspromant, where Orrec's father is Brantor, or 'master.' Orrec and his childhood friend, Gry, from neighboring Roddmant, explain to Emmon the history of the Uplands, where various family lines live side by side, each of them with a hereditary 'gift.' Gry and her mother have the gift of calling animals to the hunt; for Orrec's family, the gift is 'undoing' (which can cause instant death with just a glance). Orrec explains to Emmon that these act as defenses, 'That's what the gifts are for, the powers — so you can protect your domain and keep your lineage pure.' The teen wears a blindfold because he believes his gift is 'wild,' that he could cause destruction unwittingly. Le Guin insightfully chronicles the hero's gradual awakening to the other consequences of gifts and the pressure on each generation to manifest them. 'By not using my gift, by refusing it, not trusting it — was I betraying it?' Orrec asks himself. Gry discovers she has the ability to train animals and refuses to use her 'gift' to call them to the hunt; she wonders aloud to Orrec, 'I wonder if all the gifts are backward....They could have been healing, to begin with.' And what of Orrec's mother's skill for storytelling, which she cultivated in her son? Should that be discounted because she is a Lowlander? As Le Guin poses these questions, she also explores universal coming-of-age themes, examining one's identity and falling in love. Emmon, as outsider, offers the protagonists another perspective — and an alternative. This provocative novel may well prompt teens to examine their own talents, and to ask whether they simply accept those 'gifts' assigned to them by others or whether the 'gifts' are their true passions. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Le Guin is a wonderful writer, and this haunting, thought-provoking fantasy has the power of legend....Exceptional book." KLIATT

"What a pleasure it is to read a well-crafted story told by a master!...We find ourselves really caring about these two teens. A page-turner and highly recommended." Children's Literature

"Although intriguing as a coming-of-age allegory, Orrec's story is also rich in the earthy magic and intelligent plot twists that made the Earthsea novels classics. One would expect nothing less from the author..." Booklist (Starred Review)

In this beautifully crafted yet darkly compelling fantasy, Le Guin writes of the cruelty of power and how hard it is to grow up in a world in which each person has a magical, dangerous "gift."

Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of more than three dozen books. She was awarded a Newbery Honor for the second volume of the Earthsea Cycle, The Tombs of Atuan, and among her many other distinctions are the Margaret A. Edwards Award, a National Book Award, and five Nebula Awards. She lives in Portland, Oregon.