The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Rating: PG-13; 4 stars

Summary: The Prophecy of the Sisters tells the story of two sisters who, after their father dies, find out that they are part of an ancient prophecy that could bring about the end of the world. Each sister bears an opposing part in this prophecy, and one of the main issues is that the sisters feel that they were each given the wrong role. The "good" sister, from whose perspective the story is told, is thrust much more fully into danger since her sister refuses to help her change the ending of the prophecy.

Lia, the POV-character, spends the majority of the book learning about the prophecy. Towards the end of the book, she begins searching for the "keys" that will help end the prophecy in her favor (and in the favor of the rest of the world). The book has an open ending; I'm sure there will be a sequel (in fact, a little digging on Amazon reveals that it is the first book in a trilogy).

Opinions: This book took me a little by surprise. There was nothing I gleaned from the book jacket that pointed me towards the fact that it takes place in the Victorian Era. It was a very nice surprise. I love historical fiction, and have been waiting for another dark fantasy/historical novel since the Gemma Doyle Trilogy ended. This granted my wish.

This novel had me hooked to the unable-to-put-down point from about the middle onwards. Lia's quest for answers was very well-written. There weren't too many times when I figured things out before Lia did (an unfortunate side-effect of being a voracious reader). I felt like the characters were realistic and believable. This was definitely, IMO, a plot-based novel, as opposed to a character-based story. Even so, the characters were written just as well as the plot. The fact that it was the action and not the characters that moved the story forward was made irrelevant because both components were so well-written.

Now, the reasoning for my ratings. I wasn't sure if I should rate this PG or PG-13. There's virtually no swearing, no sex or nudity, but the story itself is inherently dark. I decided that were this a movie, it would probably be PG-13, even if it was a very mild PG-13. I also felt that 4 stars was a very good rating for this book. It was a very enjoyable read; there's nothing I can really complain about. But still, it didn't contain that "wow-factor" I'm looking for in a 4 1/2 or 5 star book. Still, it was a great book that I wholeheartedly recommend.