Book one of the Alora series by Tamie Dearen is escapist fiction after my own heart.
There's no fantasy fan who doesn't want to step into the wardrobe and find Narnia or hop on the Hogwarts Express.
The beauty or being a writer is the ability to create a world for ourselves and that's what Dearen does in The Wander-Jewel.
She uses a mature approach and modern language in this 21st century escapist adventure, putting the Alora book solidly in the YA genre, but still makes it fantastic enough to let the reader build upon what she's written.
Tenavae is built on culture, on the people, so it's filled with different characters and clans. Dearen has a strong dialogue style, very character focused so the reader can build a physical world around the amazingly developed characters with what's provided by them.
It's an unusual and difficult style for a fantasy but it is incredibly well done.
I'm looking forward to book two and after that I hope to have a chat with Tamie Dearen posted here!
