Sharp North

by Patrick Cave

Book Overview

In a futuristic yet realistic Britain, Great Families rule, maintaining their power through a caste system and severely restricted reproduction, while they keep illegal clones--called spares--of themselves.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416912223
• ISBN13: 9781416912224
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 518 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.0" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

A great dystopian read

This was a fast paced novel that drew me in from the very beginning. I stayed up late waiting to find out what would happen next, and would put off doing work so that I could finish it. All in all it's a very good read, especially if you enjoy dystopias. The characters were for the most part very well drawn, and you really felt empathy for them. Mira is particularly well developed as a character, especially in the first two thirds of the book. Part of what keeps the book being five stars for me is that I feel like Mira is lost a little towards the end of the book. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and while their individual personalities show through, I sometimes wished we had more of the story on some of them. Without giving away the plot, I really felt the motives of Pieter and Magnus could have been explained in greater depth, and that Gil and Mira's relationship could have been developed a bit more at the very beginning. These are small quibbles, and really nothing that should keep you from reading the book! The ending was a huge shock, and I've found myself thinking about it over the past few days. This is not one of those novels that leaves readers with lots of answers and every character's story neatly wrapped up, but rather leaves room for thought about what the meaning in everything is.

Excellent scenery, good suspense

I found this book to be very atmospheric. It pulled you in and kept you reading to find out what the mystery that surrounded Mira was. I skipped through some of the journay descriptions but the snow scenes were some of best I've read.