Foundling

FOUNDLING: D. M. Cornish: Young Adult: Putman’s Sons: 434 pgs

Having grown up in a home for foundlings and possessing a girl's name, Rossamund gets assigned to his new job as Lamplighter- lighting the highways of Half-Continent to protect the citizens from evil. Rossamund wants to see adventure and fight the nickers and bogles so he too can bear the mark of the Monster Blood Tattoo but agrees to his appointment and sets on his way to training camp. But getting there becomes an adventure in of itself as he meets up with Miss Europa, a fulgar (one who can release immense charges of electricity), who battles the monsters.

In this first book of the Monster Blood Tattoo series, the author has done a wonderful job creating a new world in the style of J.R.R. Tolkien. In the back of the book there is the Explicarium- a massive glossary, maps, and illustrations to help the reader understand the world of Half-Continent. Even if you listen to the story, as I did, the author does a wonderful job describing the new world that you understand without the need of the Explicarium.

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