Enna Burning - 5 stars

     Enna Burning is the second book in The Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale. Unlike the first book, it isn't based off a fairy-tale, but is just as intriguing and captivating a story as The Goose Girl.

     Enna Burning centers around Enna, the best friend of Isi, formerly Anidori-Kiladra of Kilandree and now the new princess of Bayern. Enna is from the Forest, one of a practical people who live a harder life than those in Bayern who dwell in cities. To be from the Forest is to be a survivor, and that aptly describes Enna. She's a blunt, quick-thinking and -speaking person who can stand up for herself, and she's fiercely loyal to her friends and family. But things are about to change for Enna, and her loyalty and strength will be tested to the limit.

     Bayern is at war with the neighboring country of Tira. Enna's brother Liefer has mysteriously learned to control fire, and he hopes his new gift will be able to help Bayern win the war. Instead, his new gift overpowers him and burns him to death. Enna discovers how he learned to control fire: a scrap of vellum he found in the forest tells how to learn to speak to fire. Enna is now gifted like her friend Isi, who is able to speak to the wind and understand the language of birds. But Enna's gift is strong, almost stronger than Enna herself. The need to burn and burn is more than she can bear sometimes. She's afraid she'll lose control and hurt the ones she loves. Can she find a balance? Or will she burn like her brother, mastered by a gift too powerful for her?

     Enna Burning was probably the most suspenseful of The Books of Bayern. The whole struggle Enna goes through, not just because of the war, but because of her new power, is very intense, and thanks to Shannon Hale's writing it's impossible not to feel Enna's pain. Enna Burning was also the book that took me the longest time to digest, and I'll admit to actually disliking it when I first read it. Enna Burning was very different from other Shannon Hale books I'd read, and took me completely by surprise. 

     First of all, Enna Burning is more sober than the other books in this series. There's less of the fun and light-heartedness that can be found in the other ones, and although there are happy moments, there are also many, many scenes that are very sad and terrible. When I first read it, I was actually a bit frightened by it, because it was more dark and intense than anything I had read from Shannon Hale, and was completely unexpected. It took me a reread and a week to contemplate the story before I could really decide what to think, and at that point I realized it was an amazing story. It was much less intense than many stories I've read, but because it came from Shannon Hale - who has always been a writer who quietly thrills me with gentle, heart-felt scenes - I had all my barriers down and Enna Burning made a terrific impact.

     The other reason I initially thought I disliked Enna Burning is because this book also happens to be one of the edgiest of Shannon Hale's books, which is saying something, since Enna Burning is barely edgy at all. That should speak for the quality of Shannon Hale's stories. It's mostly because of Enna's character that this story feels edgy to me. Enna is a sharp contrast to the quiet, reserved Isi of the previous book, and Enna's bold actions lead her into situations Isi would never have found herself in, and there was a particular scene where I was afraid the story would go downhill. But thankfully, although Shannon Hale pushed the extent of edginess from her other books, Enna Burning is clean and safe, and isn't really any worse because of what happened.

     In the end, I would recommend Enna Burning just as highly as I would recommend The Goose Girl. It's full of powerful feelings and meaningful characters. It's more intense and less funny that The Goose Girl, but it can still make me laugh. It's also a great sequel to The Goose Girl, bringing back many of the old characters as well as including some new ones.

Link to author website: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html