THE REBEL PRINCE

TITLE: THE REBEL PRINCE
AUTHOR: CELINE KIERNAN
Pages: 409
Date: 07/09/2010
Grade: 5
Details: no. 3 The Moorehawke Trilogy / YA
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Wow, what a powerful finale to a wonderful trilogy. Celine Kiernan has surpassed herself in this final book in the trilogy featuring the adventures of Wynter and her friends Christopher and Razi.
When the three travellers and their Merron companions at last find Prince Alberon's secret camp they soon discover that creating a peace between the rebel prince and his father is not going to be as easy as they hoped.
It seems that Alberon is determined to secure the safety of the kingdom through strength rather then diplomacy, and has allied himself with countries and people which Wynter and her friends can only view with suspicion, while some alliances demand too much sacrifice on the part of our three heroes. And to make matters worse, he has decided to use Lorcan Moorhawke's "Bloody Machine" as a negotiating tool.
With Wynter learning a terrible truth about her beloved father, and Christopher having to face his worst nightmare once again, their patience, love and endurance is stretched to it's limits. But still Wynter, Christopher and Razi do everything in their power to prevent a clash between father and son. Can their efforts achieve the seemingly impossible though?
This is the second young adult book I read in the space of a few weeks that deals with the horrors of war and succeeds brilliantly at showing how in a conflict situation the lines between right and wrong quickly become blurred. It shows the heartbreaking choices and sacrifices that have to be made by all involved and proves that once a genie is out of its box, there's no putting it back in.
I was so impressed with this book and this trilogy. Celine Kiernan's writing is beautifully descriptive, her characters jump of the pages, and are completely human and realistic. And to top it all off, the book comes with the perfect ending, not explaining too much yet giving all the answers the reader might want. I am very impressed and would recommend this book to anyone.