River Secrets

Infobox Book |
name = River Secrets
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Shannon Hale
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Bayern series
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Bloomsbury Press
pub_date = September 5, 2006
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 304 pp
isbn = ISBN 1582349010
oclc = 62804636
preceded_by = Enna Burning
followed_by =

"River Secrets" is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale. It is the third book in the Bayern series.

Plot

The story begins as the main character, Razo, is watching a meeting. The king and queen of Bayern speak with a Tiran ambassador and agree that they should exchange ambassadors to promote peace between the two countries. After the reception, Razo is chosen to be one of twenty soulders from Bayern's Own to join the ambassador in Ingridan, the capital of Tira. Razo doubts himself and believes that their captain only chose him because of his participation in the war. As winter creeps into Bayern, the ambassador, Lady Megina, and twenty of Bayern's Own leave off for Tira. On the way, Razo finds a burned body hidden in the trees near a river. After talking with his captain, they assume that Enna might be burning again. Either that, or the burner might be from Tira, because the body was placed to be easily seen from the Tiran escort group. When the party arrives at Ingridan, they are taken to Thousand Year's Palace, where they are introduced to Lord Belvan and Lady Dasha, their hosts and hostess.

Razo finds more burned bodies and still doesn't know who the burner is. After being beat up by one of Tira's soldiers, he goes to his captain to get sent home. Talone rejects his plea, and asks him a series of random questions. After answering them all correctly, Razo is told that he has excellent observation, and is given the job of spying to find the murderer. Razo proceeds to watch and spy on everyone. A week passes and the Tiran party challenges Bayern's Own to a mock swordfight. Razo is humiliated with defeat and is mocked by the Tiran soldiers. Then Finn speaks up and tells them to challenge Razo with a long-ranged weapon. His sling to their spears. Razo hits every target and discovers that he's the best sling Bayern had.

The summer approaches and the Tiran soldiers and all of the nobles leave for the coolness of the country. Razo goes out to buy shoes and meets the prince of Tira. The prince tells him that he has no true power, except the power of the people's opinion. Razo proceeds to spend most of the summer with the prince so that people can get used to seeing Bayern. They then dye their blab white robes that all Tiran wear rich and deep colors. Next thing they knew, everyone was wearing their Tiran robes with Bayern dyes. But it's not enough to extinguish their hatred for Bayern. Then Razo and Dasha go to the burner's secret place and get captured they fight back and almost got killed until Enna and Finn came to help. Last, Finn makes a fool of himself by singing to Enna shriekily in front of many people and Enna finally decides to marry him for that.

Characters

Razo- A goofy and clumsy 17-year-old boy who helped protect Enna while she burned in the war. He has low self-esteem and believes that Captain Talone made a mistake in choosing him. But he struggles to prove his worth to his comrades by solving the case of the burner. His eye of observation is exceptional.

Enna- She's a gifted fire speaker who burned most of the Tiran army during the war. She volunteers to go to Tira in an attempt to prove that she can be useful for something besides destroying. She seems to be in love with Finn, but doesn't think he has what it takes to support a proper relationship.

Finn- The best swordsmen in Bayern's Own, he has trouble expressing what he feels. He is in love with Enna, but he won't break his cool for her.

Captain Talone- The captain of Bayern's Own. He's very emotionless, but solves most of the murder case. He gives Razo the position as spy, which was why he picked him to come to Tira.

Dasha- The daughter of the ambassador of Tira, she volunteers to be the liaison of Thousand Year's Palace. She knows that Enna is the secret fire-speaker of Bayern, but wants to meet her to learn her art. She has "river fingers", meaning she can manipulate water. But it constantly pulls on her, inviting her to join. That's how her grandfather died, and she doesn't want to share his fate.

Literary significance and reception

Awards and nominations

* Nominated for Yalsa's Teens' Top Ten [cite web
title = Nominations for the 2007 Teens’ Top Ten Books
publisher = American Library Association
url = http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/TTT2007_rev.pdf
accessdate = 2008-02-14 ]
* Nominated for the ALA's Best Books for Young Adults
* A "St. Louis Post Dispatch" Best Book of 2006

Adaptations

Publication history

*2006, USA, Bloomsbury USA ISBN 1582349010, Pub date 5 September 2006, Hardback

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_razo.html Books: River Secrets] on the author's official website