 First edition | |
| Author | Shannon Hale |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Books of Bayern |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Press |
Publication date | September 15, 2009 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 317 |
| ISBN | 1-58234-889-8 |
| Preceded by | River Secrets |
Forest Born is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale. [1] It is the fourth book in the Books of Bayern series.
The book centres around Rinna (Rin), Razo's fifteen-year-old sister who still lives in the Forest with their large family (known as Agget-kin). At the beginning of the book, Rin feels wrong in herself; when she was younger she ordered her niece around and it made her feel good, big and powerful. However, when her ma returns and finds that Rin has upset the niece, she scolds Rin and turns away. Rin, upset and confused, runs into the deeper Forest and hugs a tree as she would have hugged her ma, begging for forgiveness. At this point she discovers that she can ‘open’ herself to the trees in a way and absorb their peace. She returns home but continues to be afraid that if she speaks to people as she did to her niece, she will lose Ma's love. To prevent this she begins to mirror her mother and her favourite brother Razo. She doesn’t demand things or speak much at all.
However, when she is fifteen, she breaks all her rules with a boy named Wilem, who calls her wild. After that day the wrongness begins to eat at her again, and she buries and distorts the memory of her time with Wilem. After this, she discovers that the trees don’t give her peace anymore. She thinks that they have rejected her for what happened with Wilem.
Soon after Wilem, Razo and his girl Dasha return from Bayern's capital to visit the homestead. When they leave Rin goes with them, hoping that going out into the world will change her as it changed Razo.
They arrive at the capital and Rin is given a place as a waiting woman to Queen Anidori. She proves to work well with the young prince, Tusken, and becomes his main care-giver. After a few weeks another waiting woman named Cilie returns and demands to spend time with Tusken. Rin, who has always been good at reading people's faces, feels that Cilie wishes the boy harm and tells the queen. She takes Rin's concerns seriously and tells her to call her Isi, her nickname that only her closest friends call her. Rin admires the queen and begins to mimic her and see her as an idol.
Isi's best friend, Enna, is planning her wedding to Finn when Bayern's Own, the king's personal hundred-band, is called out to one of the villages near the border of Kel, a neighbouring country. A few days after they leave a messenger returns and tells Isi that they were attacked by fire. Isi, Enna, Dasha, Rin, and another hundred-band leave to assist them. At the last minute they take Tusken with them, for Isi fears that in their absence Cilie will harm him.
They meet the king's party, along with Razo and Finn, on the road to the border town. The king was injured and one man was killed. Isi, Enna, and Dasha set out to discover who was behind it. Rin, feeling that she needs to stay with Isi, leaves Tusken in Razo's care and follows them.
On their journey Rin learns about fire-, wind-, water-, and people-speaking. People-speaking is called by Enna a ‘curse’, and is said to corrupt whoever has it. Rin nicknames the three girls the ‘fire sisters’, and Isi says she thinks Rin might have tree-speaking. After stopping at an inn for a night and being almost killed by fire-speakers, the four discover that the queen of Kel is trying to kill them. As far as they know, however, there is no queen of Kel.
They continue their journey to Kel. Rin discovers that no matter where they go, the trees still reject her. She comes to the conclusion that she is the problem, not them; she is wrong.
They reach a village in Kel that is inhabited by soldiers of the queen of Kel. While the fire sisters are distracted a soldier threatens to kill a young girl. Rin, desperate to save her, once again breaks her rules and uses powerful words to make him let go of the child. Afterwards, despite having saved the girls life, she feels disgusted and sick with herself.
They arrive at Castle Daire where the queen of Kel is living. After the girls see Razo and Tusken in a cage over a bonfire, the queen of Kel reveals herself. It is Selia, Isi's treacherous former lady-in-waiting, who is a people-speaker and who everyone thought was dead. She captures the fire sisters but Rin, using her tree-speaking, manages to escape and free Razo and Tusken from the cage. They spend the night hidden in a tree and Rin, desperate to escape, opens herself to the tree despite the wrongness. There she faces the true, full memory of what happened with Wilem and discovers that she is a people-speaker.
Razo, Rin, and Tusken spend several days in the wood, avoiding soldiers and making a plan. Razo says he will attempt to rescue the fire sisters, but Rin discovers that he is injured and insists that she goes instead. Razo argues, so she tells him that she has people-speaking and isn’t safe to be around. She wants to risk her own, seemingly less worthy, life instead of his. Razo agrees to let her go because he thinks it will help Rin prove herself to her own mind.
Rin uses her tree-speaking to help her sneak into the castle, but is caught once inside. Selia tells her that Tusken is caught and Razo was killed, then throws her in the dungeon with the fire sisters. The next day Selia takes Isi and tries to convince her to sign a document naming her the ruler of Bayern's eastern provinces. If Isi, Tusken, and the king (Geric) were to die, Selia would become queen. When Isi resists Selia gets angry and tells her fire-speakers to hurt her, but they go too far and accidentally kill her. When Isi's body is thrown back into the dungeon, Enna and Dasha send water, air, and heat back into her body and Rin uses her people-speaking to call Isi back.
The next day Isi provides a distraction and Rin escapes the cell. She searches the castle for Tusken but has no luck, and is re-captured when Isi and Selia enter the room she is in. While Isi tries to resist Selia's people-speaking, Rin tries to think of a way to escape. After a while Rin realises that Selia is lying; Tusken was never recaptured and Razo was not killed. She tells Isi, who uses wind and heat to fight off the guards and fire-speakers. Selia's voice still affects her though, and in an effort to stop her speaking Rin punches her in the nose. Rin then speaks truth to Isi, using her own people-speaking, and Isi is able to truly take control. Selia, frantic and crazed, throws herself out the window crying, “I will die a queen.”
Isi and Rin return to the wood to find Razo and Tusken. The four of them then return to Castle Daire where, in the next few days, King Geric and King Scandlan (king of Kel) are summoned and the place is put in order. When King Scandlan arrives he is still affected by Selia, so Rin speaks truths to him to help him heal.
The Bayern people return to the capital, where Enna and Finn are married. After the ceremony Rin opens herself to an old elm tree. She discovers that she needs balance, that tree-speaking centres her and makes her stable, while people-speaking branches her out towards light and people.
The next morning, after farewelling Razo, Rin leaves to return to the Forest. She feels better within herself, but she wants to learn about her skills and feel right at home. Her family welcomes her home with great joy. [2]
Rinna (Rin): main character of Forest Born. A people-speaker and tree-speaker.
Razo: Rin's favourite brother. Spy and slinger in Bayern's Own. In a relationship with Dasha.
Ma: Razo and Rin's ma. Runs the homestead and is known by all Agget-kin, including her grandchildren, as ‘Ma’.
Queen Anidori/Isi: queen of Bayern, princess of Kildenree. Wind-speaker and fire-speaker, mother of Tusken and wife of Geric. Enna's best friend.
Enna: forest girl, married to Finn by the end of the book. Fire-speaker and wind-speaker. Isi's best friend.
Dasha: Tiran ambassador, Razo's girl. Water-speaker and fire-speaker, friend of Enna, Isi, and Rin.
Finn: Enna's husband by the end of the book, swordsman in Bayern's Own.
Selia: Isi's treacherous former lady-in-waiting, a people-speaker. Temporary queen of Kel.
Tusken: prince heir of Bayern, son of Isi and Geric.
Geric: king of Bayern, husband of Isi, father of Tusken.
King Scandlan: king of Kel, temporary husband of Selia.
Cilie: Selia's lady-in-waiting, Isi's temporary lady-in-waiting while she tries to kidnap Tusken.
Nuala and the Fire-Speakers: Selia's fire-speakers and servants who she manipulated with her people-speaking. They commit suicide when they see their dead mistress.
http://www.squeakybooks.com/2009/06/forest-born-shannon-hale.html
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/09/book-review-forest-born-by-shannon-hale.html
http://stephsureads.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/review-forest-born-by-shannon-hale.html
Speaker for the Dead is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, an indirect sequel to the 1985 novel Ender's Game. The book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in Ender's Game. However because of relativistic space travel at near-light speed Ender himself is only about 35 years old.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1985 American two-part made-for-television adventure family fantasy musical film of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). An Irwin Allen production, it used a huge all-star cast of notable actors and actresses. The title role was played by Natalie Gregory, who wore a blonde wig for this miniseries. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast December 9, 1985, and December 10, 1985, at 8:00pm EST on CBS.
Shannon Hale is an American author primarily of young adult fantasy, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. Her first novel for adults, Austenland, was adapted into a film in 2013. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Montana. She has also co-written with her husband, Dean.
Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus is a 2005 computer-animated adventure film directed by Greg Richardson and produced by Mattel Entertainment with Mainframe Entertainment. It first premiered on Nickelodeon on September 18, 2005, and it was released later to DVD on September 20, 2005.
War of the Dead is a 2011 action horror film written and directed by Marko Mäkilaakso and starring Andrew Tiernan, Mikko Leppilampi, Jouko Ahola, Samuli Vauramo, Andreas Wilson, Mark Wingett, and Antti Reini.
Dasha may be:
Yume-Kira: Dream Shoppe is a Japanese manga series by Aqua Mizuto. It originally ran in Shogakukan's manga magazine Shōjo Comic and then was serialized in Viz Media's Shojo Beat magazine from April 2007 to July 2007.
The Goose Girl is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same title, published by Bloomsbury in 2003. It is Hale's debut novel and the first in her Books of Bayern series. It follows the story of Anidori-Kiladra "Ani" Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, as she travels to the neighboring kingdom of Bayern to wed their crown prince. On the journey, she is usurped by her jealous lady-in-waiting and must prove her true identity as the princess. Critical reception of the novel was mostly positive. The book won the 2003 Josette Frank Award for fiction and has been published in English, Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
Enna Burning is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale, published in 2004 by Bloomsbury. It is the second book in Hale's Books of Bayern series, following The Goose Girl. The novel explores the story of Enna, who was first introduced as a secondary character in Goose Girl, as she learns the magical ability of manipulating the element of fire. Enna struggles to balance the fire's intense power over her with her desire to use her powers to save Bayern, her home country, from invasion. Its themes include friendship, deception, and love. Reviews of Enna Burning mostly complimented the book's prose and character development. It received the 2004 AML Award for Young Adult Literature and has been published in eight languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Austenland is a 2007 novel by Shannon Hale, published by Bloomsbury. It follows protagonist Jane Hayes, a graphic designer living in New York City who is secretly obsessed with Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, specifically Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation. Her aunt dies and, in her will, leaves Jane a trip to an Austen theme park in the English countryside, where customers and actors role-play as characters in the Regency era. The novel is the first in Hale's Austenland series, followed by Midnight in Austenland. A film based on the first novel was released in 2013, starring Keri Russell and directed by Jerusha Hess.
Princess Academy is a fantasy novel exploring themes of families, relationships, and education by Shannon Hale published on June 16, 2005, by Bloomsbury. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Miri who attends a princess academy that will determine who wins the hand of the prince. The book was named a 2006 Newbery Honor winner as well as a New York Times Bestseller. It is the first in the Princess Academy series, followed by Princess Academy: Palace of Stone and Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters.
River Secrets is a 2006 fantasy novel by Shannon Hale. It is the third book in the Books of Bayern series.
"Four Great Women and a Manicure" is the twentieth and penultimate episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. First broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 10, 2009, it is the second Simpsons episode to have four acts instead of the usual three. The episode tells four tales of famous women featuring Simpsons characters in various roles: Selma as Queen Elizabeth I, Lisa as Snow White, Marge as Lady Macbeth and Maggie as Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.
"Tree Trunks" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Bert Youn and Sean Jimenez, from a story by Merriwether Williams and Tim McKeon. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on Monday, April 12, 2010. The episode guest stars Polly Lou Livingston as the titular Tree Trunks.
"Fionna and Cake" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Mark Banker, Kent Osborne, Patrick McHale, and series creator Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on September 5, 2011.
"The Quarterback" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the ninety-first episode overall. Written by all three of the show's creators—Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan—and directed by Falchuk, it first aired on Fox in the United States on October 10, 2013. The episode sees the death of character Finn Hudson, and acts as a tribute to Hudson and to actor Cory Monteith, who had played the character since the start of the series, and who died on July 13, 2013. The episode's plot centers on the impact Finn's death has on the characters, specifically Kurt Hummel, Will Schuester, Santana Lopez, Noah Puckerman, and Rachel Berry.
Princess Academy: Palace of Stone is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale published in 2012 by Bloomsbury USA. It is the sequel to Princess Academy, the first book in the series, and is followed by Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters. It continues the story of Miri Larendaughter as she visits the capital city of Asland to attend the Queen's Castle academy and the royal wedding. It is a New York Times best seller. It has been published in English, German, Russian, and Chinese.
Finn Kelly is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Rob Mills. The actor relocated to Melbourne, where the show's studios are located, for the role of progressive high school teacher Finn. Mills began filming his first scenes in early November 2016, and he confirmed that he would be on-screen for around four to five months. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 15 March 2017. Finn was introduced as a replacement for fellow teacher Brad Willis at Erinsborough High.
The Horse Lurja is a Georgian folktale published by Georgian folklorist Mikhail Chikovani. It tells the story about the friendship between a princess and a magic horse, which sacrifices itself for her after it rescues her from great peril. Although the tale appears in Georgia, some scholars recognize similar narratives in Central Asia and across Europe.