Make the harrowing journey home with Queen Bitterblue's sister and spy, in the fifth novel in the bestselling Graceling Realm series. Hava sails across the sea toward Monsea with her sister, the royal entourage, and the world’s only copies of the formulas for the zilfium weapon she saved at the end of Winterkeep . During the crossing, Hava makes an unexpected discovery about one of the ship’s crew, but before she can unravel the mystery, storms drive their ship off course, wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must endure a harrowing trek across the ice to make it back to Monsea. And while Queen Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon that will change the world, Hava has a few more mysteries to solve—and a decision to make about who she wants to be in the new world Bitterblue will build. Gr 9 Up-Hava's Grace lets her disappear in plain sight, making her the perfect spy for Queen Bitterblue, her secret half-sister. Bitterblue learned the truth about zilfium in Winterkeep, and now travels home with zilfium weapon plans where Hava must play a part. Hava's insatiable curiosity and ever-listening ears discover a mystery aboard the royal ship Monsea, but before she can get to the bottom of it they're blown off course. Shipwrecked and stranded on the ice in the far north, Hava uncovers a number of other questions as court and crew begin their long, treacherous walk back to Monsea. After a childhood spent in hiding, Hava's journey forces her to reckon with who she is and how she wishes to be seen by the world. Cashore's writing and character arcs are exceptional as always, but Hava's juvenile narration strikes an odd tone for such a dark series, and her musings often lead nowhere, making this story harder to follow than its predecessors. While they're marketed as companion novels, the series from Bitterblue onward really does need to be read in order to understand what's at stake. There is some racial diversity among the cast, with Bitterblue being biracial. VERDICT Cashore never misses the bestsellers lists. That said, this harrowing adventure is probably best for libraries where the rest of the series already has readers.-Emmy Nealα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "I may be biased, as Cashore has been my self-proclaimed favorite author for over a decade, but this book quite literally made me sob at my desk at one moment, so longtime (and newer-to-the-series) fans will be extremely thrilled."—BuzzFeed  "Seasparrow is a cathartic story, one that allows its heroine to understand how much she’s been through and how much she needs....I hope there’s more Hava yet to come."—Molly Templeton for Tor.com "Cashore never shies away from showing the charming mundanities of the everyday and the brutal realities of the harshness of wilderness and emotions as well as exploring how enduring trauma shapes a person and a kingdom.... A harrowing, rewarding tale of survival."— Kirkus Reviews "Cashore's Graceling books have hit bestseller lists and kept readers fascinated for almost 15 years. This fifth installment promises the same. "—Booklist Reviews Kristin Cashore grew up in northeast Pennsylvania and earned her master's degree from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College. She lives in the Boston area. Her epic fantasy novels set in the Graceling Realm-- Graceling , Fire , Bitterblue, and Winterkeep --are all New York Times bestsellers and have won many awards. 1. If you could eavesdrop without anyone knowing—­if you could turn yourself into a barrel, or a coil of lines, or a clump of canvas on deck where two people are standing together, whispering secrets to each other—­are you sure you wouldn’t? Eavesdrop. I wonder where that word comes from. Did people used to climb into the eaves of a house and snoop on conversations? Then drop? Then what? Yell “Surprise!” and watch people jump and throw their papers around? That would be funny. I’ve never done that. I asked Giddon his opinion, but he had no ideas about eavesdrop. He said he’s fond of the word snowdrop, and he’s right; it’s a good word. It snows almost every day now here at sea, so it’s nice to imagine white petals drifting down onto my face. But it doesn’t help me with eavesdrop. He said it aloud, “Snowdrop,” as we stood on the foredeck of the Monsea, where the plunge of the prow into each wave is more extreme than anywhere else on the ship. I like it there on the foredeck. It feels like exciting things are going to happen. Then he said, “Foxglove, that’s a nice word too. Moonflower,” he added, staring across the gray water like he was having a revelation. Giddon is big and tall and handsome in a noble sort of way, with a neat dark beard and pale skin like mine, and he has a fire inside him that he reserves for Bitterblue. I could see him mentally picking a bouquet fo