The Myth in Distance—Charlene Challenger

9781988040134

The sequel to Charlene Challenger’s Aurora Award-nominated young adult novel, The Voices in Between, begins three years after heroine Adoni first followed Ritter, a piper, to the place known as the In-Between and defied its sinister overlord, Ansgar. Unable to find her way back, Adoni has given up the thought of ever rescuing the children she left behind. When she is finally reunited with Ritter, she coaxes him to unlock the portal, and together they return to the piper colony known as The Welcome. But they’re disturbed to discover their once-arresting world has been decimated by the vicious Sylvester and his changeling army. Neither Ritter nor Adoni is prepared to wage war against him. Their only weapon is the violent, devastating voice Adoni left the In-Between with all those years ago, but she soon learns that a weapon is only a weapon if you know how to use it.

“The Voices in Between introduced us to spirited, sad Adoni and the world of the In-Between, with its haunting melodies and dark magic. In The Myth in Distance, years have passed and much has changed, in both of Adoni’s worlds. It was a delight meeting familiar characters again, and a thrill watching this new story unfold. Peril and passion; friends and changelings and a nightmarish villain—and Adoni at the centre of it all, struggling with identity and power, choice and regret and hope. Kudos to Challenger, whose voice, like Adoni’s, is only getting stronger.”—Caitlin Sweet, author of The Door in the Mountain

“Luckily for us all, Challenger has given us a stirring encore to the tale she started in The Voices in Between, and has done so brilliantly, with feeling. Her words, her characters, sing on the page, and thrill you to your bones until the final note. Sonorous, moving, and with an authenticity rarely seen. Or heard.”—S.M. Beiko, author of The Lake and the Library and Scion of the Fox

Photo: Christine Baldacchino

Charlene Challenger is a graduate of the Ryerson Theatre School. Her first book, The Voices in Between, was shortlisted for an Aurora Award and longlisted for a Sunburst Award. She lives in Toronto with her husband and their adorable dog, Omi.