The first two volumes in Dean's classic fantasy trilogy--featuring five cousins whose imaginary world they call "The Secret Country" becomes real--are available once again in these mass market-sized paperbacks.
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The first two volumes in Dean's classic fantasy trilogy--featuring five cousins whose imaginary world they call "The Secret Country" becomes real--are available once again in these mass market-sized paperbacks.
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Seller's Description:
Used: Good. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE boxes Sci Fi Books for Kids; Good used paperback, clean pages, may have tanning due to age, prompt shipping, tracking.
The Secret Country and The Hidden Land, the first two books in this trilogy, were originally written as one installment (as the author's note explains). I'm not sure who separated them, but they ought to be tightened up and put back together again. Dean's writing is deep and rich, but oddly elliptical. She includes numerous literary and historical asides and quotes (the children devour Shakespeare, which influences their language and play-acting). However intriguing the plot and alive the characters become, though, there seems to be a lack of real plot advancement or explanation throughout the first book. There are too many unenlightening references and symbols that aren't properly explained until the second book; the reader understands less than the characters at times, and the story revolves around the kids' confusion of what is real and what is fantasy. Despite that, this story is fun and engrossing, and if you have enough imagination / curiosity, you're pulled on to the next book -- if only to better understand what the heck is happening.