The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

This is the second book in the Dark is Rising Sequence by author Susan Cooper. The first book is titled 'Over Sea, Under Stone'.

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This is the story of Will Stanton age 11. The day before his birthday a number of strange events occur. The family animals seem to be afraid of him, the radio goes static whenever he passes by and the neighbour Mr. Dawson gives his a gift and a cryptic message: "The walker is abroad, and this night will be bad, and tomorrow will be beyond imagining." This is only the start of a very unusual birthday and Christmas.

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Will learns that he is one of the 'old ones' and that has been gifted with powers and that he must use them protect the world from the 'Dark' by finding six signs.

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I was quite looking forward to reading this book, but it never really clicked with me. Each time Will was faced with a challenge, he seemed to meet it easily. There was more build up to finding the signs than actually getting them. I reminded myself that this book was written for a younger audience. Perhaps for them, that was enough, that it was all about facing the challenge and being brave and keeping your head.

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I am not going to recommend this for an adult reader unless you are reading it to your child. For a young reader I think they would love it. It has magic, it has secret rituals and a huge amount of control is given to an 11 year old and he holds the key and the adults need him because they can't do what a child can.