Book: JATTAAuthor: Jenny Hale

Done by: Jean Katherine Salvador

•Summary

The book is about a girl named, Jatta. She is the princess of Alteeda. One day, she wakes up on the floor of her

room, groaning weakly, soaked in sweat, remembering nothing about what happened before she fell on the floor unconscious. She can only see her brother, Arthmael bleeding profusely and King Elisind, Jatta’s father, crying. The king said it was the ‘wolf’ who injured and tattered Jatta’s room. But Jatta felt that her family is hiding something from her. Something that involves her mother’s death and Jatta’s past. From that day on, with the help of her friend, Sanda, they investigate the king’s study, where they know they would find documents of the past. When Jatta succeeds in knowing the truth about her mother’s sacrifice and Brackensith’s curse and plans for her. Horrified, she turned. From that day on, her life was like a living hell.

Until finally, her birthday came. But the celebration ended quickly as Darthith soldiers (Brackensith’s army) arrives and comes to take Jatta away. Prepared, the king orders Jatta and Arthmael to leave the palace as it is no longer safe. Jatta and Arthmael travel. They travel to find a cure for Jatta’s curse. Will they succeed? Or will Brackensith capture Jatta and fulfill his plans?

• settingPalace, in Alteeda Where the nobles lived

• Jaisalmere,IndiaThe dwarf Riddle’s home

• Redd’s forest Where Jatta and Arthmael retreated after the incident

at Alteeda, and where they met Lord Redd, the Lord of Light and Knowledge, to replace the weakened magic inside Jatta’s amulet so that Jatta can be protected from the curse.

•Complication and climaxAs Brackensith’s grip tightens on Alteeda, Jatta realises that

only her surrender will save her kingdom. Her journey with Arthmael to Dartith’s dark isle is fraught with dangers. They are kidnapped, thrown to dragons, and trapped with lost souls inside an enchanted fire. Jatta is forced into a betrothal to the dangerously unbalanced Prince Riz. On Dartith, where night stretches for sixteen of every twenty-four hours, Jatta and Arthmael meet and befriend Princess Noriglade, Brackensith’s Undead daughter. Noriglade also despises what she is. Though the Undead rarely kill, they do kidnap their victim’s soul as they drink, a torturous experience for the victim and a corrupting one for the Undead.

Noriglade and Arthmael yearn to escape to Alteeda. Jatta resigns herself to staying, fearing her wolf is invading her personality. When mad Prince Riz stages a coup, the three young Royals are caught up in the massacre. It is Jatta’ unique powers that save them. What would happen next?

•About the Author Jenny Hale is an established illustrator and

author of children’s picture books, with 20 titles and hundreds of thousands of copies in print. Before publishing, she spent 18 years as an advertising illustrator and copywriter. She lives with her husband and writes from a long marble table overlooking Sydney’s bushland.

•Why the world should read thisThe book is a classic yet reinvented struggle

of an innocent girl against cruel men and devious monsters such as the undead and the wolves. From the front cover, with its striking image of the Jatta and the wolf, through to the cast of tormented characters, the multifarious layers of plot, and the interesting twists in the story, readers like me will surely be captivated, enjoying each and every word in the book.