Prophecy of the Sisters
by Michelle Zink
An ancient prophecy divides two sisters - one good...one evil...who will prevail?
Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.
Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.
They just know they can't trust each other.
(Description taken from Amazon.com)
I actually listened to this book on CD after reading Greenbeanteenqueen's review. I had heard a lot about this book, but knowing it was "gothic" had temporarily put me off. It's really funny, I tend to love gothic books once I get past the first few chapters; I just never seem to want to pick them up in the first place.
Let me tell you, with this one, I am SO glad I finally read it. Partially it was listening to Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring it On, Dollhouse) read the book in her very even-toned, no nonsense way that helped to really carry across Lia's voice, but it was also just the perfection in the vocabulary and tone of the book.
Zink does a fabulous job utilising beautiful vocabulary that, yes I know but never remember to use!, to bring us mentally back to a time when society behaved altogether differently and a girl's life should not be devoted to trying to fulfill a prophecy without ending the world!
The mystery and otherworldly-ness of this book is utterly compelling. I found Lia to be a wonderful main character, and I loved to hate, and sometimes feel sorry for, her sister Alice, right alongside her as the plot developed.
I cannot wait to read Guardian of the Gate to see what else is revealed before the final showdown in book three!! I really hope, too, that they get Eliza Dushku to narrate the next book...I couldn't stop driving around!
