The Never Tilting World

Gr 9 Up–After a sister’s betrayal splits the world in two, our characters embark on a dangerous journey in this adventurous fantasy tale. For generations, twin goddesses have ruled Aeon but when this betrayal, called “the Breaking” takes place, two realms have been created, one in constant night and one entrenched in heat and light. One sister rules the dark city called Aranth and the other rules the Golden City. Each goddess has a daughter by her side to help her rule, and both keep secrets. The story is told in four interwoven perspectives. In the Golden City the daughter goddess Haidee desires to be free to make choices of her own and wants to lead her people to a better life. Arjun lives outside the city, struggling to survive but is compelled to help Haidee. In Aranth, the other daughter and goddess Odessa, sickly and bookish, longs to leave her tower and Tianlan, a catseye healer and bodyguard to the goddess, who works to find the balance between her duty to the goddess and her desire for her. The four are drawn through shadows and otherworldly beings to the place of the Breaking, where night meets day. The characters are nicely developed and readers will discover much about them as they go on their journey.