"A golden box, a magical world, and a quest to quench darkness with light — this Middle Grade fantasy also reels with real-world life-changing relationships."
Feeling the stress of her parents’ divorce and consequent move to a new house (actually, her deceased grandmother’s old house), Federico Ivanier’s enchantingly gripping Sword of Fire sees 12-year-old Martina embrace her destiny to embark on a quest to redress the balance between darkness and light.
Though Martina has long encountered the Wanderer in the Darkness (“She’d always had these nightmares, ever since she could first remember”), it’s only after finding a strange glowing golden box in her grandmother’s house that her destiny becomes clear, when she slips into the magical realm of Novrogod and discovers she’s the long-awaited “Sent One”, on whose young shoulders it falls to protect the realm from the clutches of Voraz, a wizard of Darkness.
Though bullied by her new stepsister, Martina finds a comrade in her stepbrother Matias and together they strive to find an assortment of magical objects that hold the key to protecting Novrogod.
There’s a bold lyricism to the writing, and kudos must go to translator Claire Storey for rendering the text so beautifully. Pacey and compellingly conjured, Sword of Fire strikes a satisfying balance between real-world struggles and those of a richly-imagined fantastical sphere.
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A brave young girl is thrust into a perilous journey to save a magical world in this sweeping, epic, middle grade fantasy from an award-winning, acclaimed Uruguayan author.
When ordinary, lonely Martina Valiente discovers a mysterious golden box in a forgotten room at her grandmother's house, she is drawn into the fantastical world of Novrogod - where magic thrives and the balance between Wizardry and Darkness must be carefully maintained.
But now, Novrogod is threatened by Voraz, a wizard of Darkness, and Martina learns that she is 'The Sent One' - a guardian of Novrogod that is destined to return to the land when it needs them the most.
Along with her stepbrother Matias, Martina sets out to collect the magical items that will aid them in restoring peace and balance to Novrogod. But can she defeat Voraz once before dark magic consumes this new world?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Sword of Fire and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Sword of Fire features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, Fantasy / Magical, Classic Literature, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Stories in translation, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Special features and related items
Sword of Fire is available in Paperback
Sword of Fire was written by Federico Ivanier and published by Puffin an imprint of Penguin Random House Children's UK
Sword of Fire has 256 pages
Yes it is part of A Puffin Book series
£8.09
