The Whisperer

Gr 4–7—On the surface, Lute and Griff have little in common. Lute is the Crown Prince of Drestonia, while Griff works behind the scenes at a traveling carnival. Griff has a secret: he can hear the thoughts of others. Most of the time, he has to be nearby to hear those thoughts, but one day he hears a voice that's little more than a whisper, from far away. It sounds like a boy who seems to be in trouble. In fact, though Griff doesn't know it, it is Lute's voice that he hears, on the day that Lute's uncle stages a coup and attempts to have the prince killed. The boy escapes, but suddenly nowhere in the country is safe. Meanwhile, Griff also goes on the run when his cruel master uncovers his mind-reading abilities and plans to use them for profit. Accompanied by his friend Tess and her menagerie of magical creatures, Griff escapes in order to seek out the owner of the voice he's been hearing. The two boys' stories start to merge as they discover that they may have more in common than either of them could have suspected. The writing is characterized by more telling than showing, and the pacing lags in places. Moreover, the major plot twist is obvious from the beginning.