Telesa

By Lani Wendt Young

An island of secrets. A girl on fire. An epic battle of the elements. Can love truly conquer all? A thrilling love story inspired by Pacific mythology - featuring a sinister sisterhood of beautiful women with an environmental agenda and a fiery yet vulnerable young woman who must master her gifts - before they destroy her and all those she cares about. She is a girl torn between two worlds...Teenager Leila Folger escapes the stifling misery of life with her American grandmother and goes to Samoa searching to connect with her mother&#39;s family. All her efforts to learn more about the mother she never knew are met with hostility. What really happened eighteen years ago when her father fled the island with his infant daughter? Why is everyone afraid to even talk about the woman he once loved? What is a &#39;telesa&#39; and why does even the mention of her name strike such fear in everyone Leila meets? And why is Leila having vivid nightmares about a mother she can&#39;t remember? Leila&#39;s quest for truth takes a thrilling turn when she meets Daniel Tahi, irresistibly compelling with his island-warrior tattoos, breath-taking jade eyes and golden smile. What is it in Daniel&#39;s mysterious past that binds him and Leila so closely? When Leila discovers she is heir to a fiery birthright, she must choose between the Sisterhood and the boy she loves. Can they overcome all that divides them - even the very elements? &quot;Readers of Twilight will find many familiar features in Telesa- a strong supernatural element, beautiful young people, school romance, students with cars - and potential for a lot of chaos. But with a difference: here the mythology and school are Samoan. Telesa are powerful women who manipulate elemental forces, sometimes for good, but often not. Males are expendable. When Leila Folger&#39;s American father dies, the 18-year old insists on going to Samoa to learn something of her mother who, she believes, died when she was an infant. She is puzzled by her aunt&#39;s cool welcome. At school she is drawn to head prefect Daniel but sparks fly. And a fiery response to a hostile youth at an interschool rugby match brawl leaves him with burns and her in confusion. Then a beautiful woman introduces Leila to the fractious and ruthless sisterhood of telesa. Life itself is at stake. But Leila is strong, has loyal friends and elemental support, and gives a good account of herself. These are great stories and &#39;The Bone Bearer&#39;, due in 2013, will complete the series.&quot; NZ National Library YA Fiction Review. &quot;A household name with Pacific readers worldwide...&quot; SUGA Magazine. &quot;A gripping story that whips the reader along. It&#39;s depiction of Leila&#39;s struggles with identity, sexuality and society&#39;s expectations will resonate with teens and ex-teens all over the world, while its warm portrayal of Samoan culture gives it a character all its own.&quot; Ann Morgan, &#39;A Year of Reading the World&#39;, Freelance Editor/Writer, Guardian, U.K &quot;Great world building and three-dimensional characters make TELESA stand out in this crowded genre...&quot; Bookeracy Reviews, USA

By Lani Wendt Young

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