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by Keith A. Plouffe (Author), Kristian Michael McKenna (Illustrator), Margaret Eden (Editor)
Annie dreams that pop singer fame will make everything right. But mysterious visions refuse to die and keep dragging her down. Each vision makes her feel more disconnected from her world and threatens to permanently separate her from reality. Then, rape and betrayal shatter her dreams entirely and drive her to the brink of suicide.
Late one night at a local beach the water beckons Annie. Just a few more steps and she knows the wet darkness will end all her pain. However, while teetering on the point of no return, Annie encounters the mysterious Esmeralda who, in a flash, initiates Annie's amazing and brutal transportation from modern city to medieval land. There, fate recasts Annie as reluctant hero on a mysterious and epic quest.
Reborn into a world of wizardry and wonder, Annie befriends Rex, a sorcerer struggling with his own challenges. Together they witness a dramatic battle and birth, during which Annie receives a mysterious talisman from the newborn dragon, Holdfast. Set upon by a warrior Princess Zoila and her army of evil gouls, Rex and Annie become unlikely partners. Thrust together by circumstance, they undertake a journey to solve the mystery of the talisman and help Annie find her way home again before it's too late. Along the way Annie and Rex are drawn into a deadly power struggle between members of the local royal family--a struggle in which Annie plays a crucial and dangerous role in the fate of all. To return home, Annie must solve the enigma of the dragon's gift, help two princesses defeat an evil monarch, and face the terrible secret that haunts her. Her time is running out as the world that Esmeralda cast her in grows increasingly unstable. If Annie doesn't face the terrible secret that haunts her soon, both worlds may be lost to her forever.
Note about the book: Annie's Odyssey is about an adolescent or young adult who either struggles with a traumatic past, or the difficulty of fitting in, with our disconnected and judgmental culture. The reader belongs to similar groups of readers that have found empowerment and encouragement in classic fantasy stories with personal growth messages like Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of OZ, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Once and Future King, and of recent Harry Potter. The mean age group the novel targets is 17 with a readership likely to span from 14 to 22. However, adults of all ages will identify w/Annie. Although the novel has strong feminist themes, males sorting through the difficulties inherent in the targeted age group will also find the novel captivating. The spiritual messages are religion-neutral in most respects with aspects of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and mixture of Native American lore and nature-based spirituality. This allows most readers in the targeted age range to find growth messages they can relate to. The primary purpose of the novel is one of self-discovery through entertainment.
