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Cybele's Secret | 
| Author: Juliet Marillier
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 10931
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.5
ISBN: 037583365X
EAN: 9780375833656
ASIN: 037583365X
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Magical November 24, 2008
I love all of Marrillier's books this was a great addition to the first novel. I still like the first one better. I will really like to see a third to this series.
 Fun Fantasy November 22, 2008
I don't normally read this type of book. But I have to say that it was quite a fun read.
The story of Paula and her father travelling on a quest for the artifact representing the Cult of Cybele.
The adventure was alot of fun and the images the author presented are vivid and really helped me get into the storyline. There was even a great romance portrayed.
The writing was entertaining and the author does not go on and on for pages on one subject - this is a fun read.
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews November 14, 2008
Paula is just one of many unusual women in her family. Ever studious and sharp, she's earned the privilege of accompanying her merchant father from their home in Transylvania to Istanbul as his assistant in search of a rare and precious artifact, Cybele's Gift. But once in Istanbul, Paula and her father learn that their contact there has been murdered--and his knowledge of Cybele's Gift may be the reason. Paula must now assist her father in rather unconventional ways--from making friends with scholars and a pirate to listening to gossip--in order to discover the location of the artifact. But she and her father aren't the only ones who aim to acquire Cybele's Gift, and as each day brings them closer to the thing which they seek, it also brings them closer to peril.
The most remarkable thing about Juliet Marillier's writing is her seemingly natural knack for not only telling an engaging and wonderful story, but for incorporating fascinating (and educational!) glimpses into whole new cultures. Istanbul comes positively alive in Cybele's Secret, both the exotic and other less favorable aspects of the life--like the oppression of women.
Paula, who readers were first introduced to in Wildwood Dancing as a quiet, intellectual, and serious girl, shines in this novel as a young women who is passionate, intelligent, and savvy. She is not without her faults though--her eagerness and refusal to accept a lower station in a world where women have no pull are admirable and often get her in scrapes that will delight readers and cause suspense.
The plot itself moves rather slowly in the beginning, but many readers won't mind as Marillier exposes the exotic setting and lays the groundwork for action. Though The Other Kingdom and magic is not as present in Cybele's Secret as it was in Wildwood Dancing, Paula is haunted by images of her eldest sister and ominous feelings of magic underfoot, which doesn't reveal itself until the fast paced and riveting end.
Full of witty banter, culture, adventure, strong heroines, a touch of romance, and just the right amount of magic, Cybele's Secret is an incredibly smart and complex tale that just might trump its prequel. A content ending with a peek into old characters' lives and just the right amount of foreshadowing will leave readers anticipating another book centered around the remarkable sisters who once danced in The Other Kingdom.
Angieville: CYBELE'S SECRET November 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
CYBELE'S SECRET is the sequel to Wildwood Dancing--Juliet Marillier's first young adult novel. I have been a huge Marillier fan ever since picking up her first novel, Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1), to take with me on a trip to Italy. The wonderful thing about Marillier is that her sequels are always as good as, if not better than, her first books. So even though I liked Wildwood Dancing well enough (it didn't wow me), I was really looking forward to CYBELE'S SECRET to see where she took her characters and what peril they got themselves into.
The story follows Paula, the next to youngest of the five Brasov girls, and the one most noted for her scholarly bent and lack of interest in pretty much all things mundane. Fluent in both Greek and Latin, Paula accompanies her merchant father on a trip to Istanbul to serve as his assistant in his attempt to acquire a most unusual, legendary artifact known as Cybele's Gift. The artifact is a remnant of a long dead pagan cult and is said to bestow upon its owner fortune and blessings untold. Once in Istanbul, Paula's father finds he is just one of several merchants set on purchasing Cybele's Gift. Shadowed closely by her Bulgar bodyguard Stoyan, Paula puts her wits to work ferreting out the history behind the artifact and just why potential buyers keep turning up dead or fleeing town without explanation. Oh, and there's also a dashing pirate and adventure on the high seas.
I enjoyed this sequel quite a bit more than its predecessor. That may have been because I related more to Paula and her struggle to stretch beyond the comfortable boundaries of her introverted nature. I also loved the setting in Istanbul. Marillier's research and immersion in her chosen locale is always evident in her stories and it particularly shone in this one. The twisty markets, the call to prayer, the artfully layered clothing swept me up along with Paula, Duarte, and Stoyan. Though some outcomes were fairly predictable, I always appreciate the loyalty Marillier's characters show one another. Even in the face of extreme doubt and fear. The good, the bad, the gray in between characters are each depicted with their individual virtues and vices and forced to move outside their accustomed circles. No one is perfect and everyone has their less-than-admirable moments as well as their moments when they prove themselves more than they seem. In short, they are all so human. And that's what brings me back to her books over and over again.
Very enjoyable reading October 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I liked reading this book. I am an adult reader rather than a young adult reader, but it works for adults as well. I would describe this novel as fantasy-romance-adventure set in a historical backdrop.
Paula, the lead character behaves like a young lady of her age, albeit very well educated and from a trading family where the women of the house worked in the family business. A good many stories of this genre concentrate on ladies from very wealthy households, setting this one apart. The heroine works and has business aspirations.
It was predictable and yet un-predictable in terms of the romance aspect of the story. The fantasy was original and the adventure part of it was good. The story moves. It is not action packed but it really moves, like an intellectual thriller. Paula could be described as nerdy, she's certainly very academic, but this is something I liked about the character. Why shouldn't smart, semi-nerdy girls have romantic adventures in exotic far-away places?
The cover art on this book is exquisitely beautiful and really suits the story. It is also an extremely good reflection of the contents of the book. I would read a chapter and then match the figure on the cover to what I just read.
Cybele's Secret can be read as a stand-alone book. It is not a sequel to Wildwood Dancing. There are a few passages in the book that give you the background to the events in Wildwood Dancing and how it ties in with the story in Cybele's Secret, but you do not need to read the earlier book to gain an understanding of the characters or plot of Cybele's Secret. This is a new story, but with some of the same characters in it.
The one small negative I would comment on would be the contrived romance scene when Paula was on the "name of ship" in rough seas.
The villain of the story was also kind of obvious. This did not detract from the story for me but some readers might have a lot to say about this.
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