20. The Dark is Rising

The Dark is Rising: Book 2 of the Dark is Rising Sequence
By Susan Cooper
Random House Children's Books, 1973
Narrated by Alex Jennings

Genre
Adventure, Low-Fantasy

Awards

• Newbery Honor (1974)
• Named one of the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" by the National Education Association (2007)
• Named one of the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time by School Library Journal (2012)

Review

Will Stanton prepares for his Midwinter birthday, but can’t shake the feeling something is wrong.  Animals are reacting aggressively toward him and he is given a strange metal symbol as a birthday present by a long-time family friend, Farmer Dawson.  Soon Will discovers he was the last Old One, an ancient and powerful being, to be born and he came into the fullness of his powers on his 11th birthday.  Will travels through time with other Old Ones "…for all times co-exist, and the future can sometimes affect the past, even though the past is a road that leads to the future . . . But men cannot understand this.”  He is told by another Old One that he is the Sign Seeker, and that he already had one of them, the item Farmer Dawson had given him.  There are six Signs that must be gathered to help fight off the Dark, dark forces that were trying to control the world.  Will, along with the light (the Old Ones and others) fight constantly to keep the Dark at bay.  The Dark had some influence on the world and were the ones causing the snow, which Will soon discovers, is at risk of killing people in his village.  Will learns to control his powers and the Signs to fend off the Dark a while longer and keep his family safe from something they don't know is happening.   Will visits with other Old Ones in different times to learn more about who he is and how he can help fight the Dark.  A captivating book that shows a young boy coping with his new situation that can sometimes be seen as a gift and at other times be seen as a burden.

Opinion

I didn't know this was the second book in a series until looking more closely at the cover.  The author did a wonderful job of making the book stand alone, but now that I know it is part of a larger series, I certainly want to read the first book, and all the rest!  The setting changes frequently and I wasn't always sure "when" the book was, but I was swept up in the story nonetheless.  There is mention of British folklore in this book, and I'm sure I would find it all that more entertaining if I was familiar with the basics of the original folk characters, like Heren the Hunter.

Ideas

A great book for reluctant readers since it is part of a series they can keep going with if they enjoy this one, but the book also stands alone well, allowing readers who may be unsure about fantasy to try new things.