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The Tale of Oriel

About The Book

The prospect of freedom is weighted with danger in this tale of high adventure, the third book in the Tales of the Kingdom series from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt.

Oriel has always stood out as someone who would not bend. No matter how much he has had to endure, the Damall’s cruelty cannot corrupt him. Griff, a boy who has watched and admired Oriel, is the opposite. He has learned to keep out of sight, to bow in the face of force. Yet the two became friends, and together they escaped from the terrors of the island and take with them the Damall’s most prized relic—the beryl, a green gemstone engraved with a falcon, its wings unfolding. But as they seek a new life, it’s not as easy as they’d hoped, for ahead lie raiding Wolfers, rival armies, and unspeakable dangers...

Previously published as Wings of a Falcon, this classic tale features a new look and a new title.

About The Author

Photograph courtesy of the author

Cynthia Voigt won the Newbery Medal for Dicey’s Song, the Newbery Honor Award for A Solitary Blue, and the National Book Award Honor for Homecoming, all part of the beloved Tillerman Cycle. She is also the author of many other celebrated books for middle grade and teen readers, including Izzy, Willy-Nilly, and Jackaroo. She was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1995 for her work in literature, and the Katahdin Award in 2004. She lives in Maine.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (May 26, 2015)
  • Length: 544 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781481403252
  • Ages: 12 - 99

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Raves and Reviews

"Newbery Medalist Voigt just gets better and better.... All the hallmarks of classic fantasy appear, transformed by

Voigt's gift for storytelling and the effortless beauty of her prose--and by the superb intelligence she endows upon her

characters. Each section of this novel is riveting, mined with powerful surprises. Voigt's themes reverberate beyond

the fantasy world; her explorations through imaginary landscapes parallel a psychic journey through questions of

identity, ethics, friendship and love. A model for the genre."

– Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful, terrible, epic tale of heroism and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal, love and loss, joy and tragedy.... Each

volume stands on its own, but together they create a tapestry more complex, meaningful, and compelling than its

individual parts."

– School Library Journal

"Grand, thought-provoking entertainment."

– Kirkus Reviews

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More books from this author: Cynthia Voigt

More books in this series: Tales of the Kingdom