Book Review: The Wise One by K.T. Anglehart (Book 1 of The Scottish Scrolls)
A good friend of mine, K. T. Anglehart has published her FIRST book! I applaud her on this amazing achievement!
You Should Read The Wise One if...
- You love magic.
- You have an affinity for anything Celtic.
- You identify with the weird and different.
- You wish you had powers.
- You want to travel to Boston, Ireland, or both (or just travel at all, frankly).
-- SPOILERS AHEAD --
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Summary
The Wise One is a coming-of-age story with Mckenna O'Dwyer discovering her powers once she's turned 17. With her powers and curiosity, she begins to unravel family secrets that push her to find her mother. She meets a girl at school, Nissa, who has her own family secrets to uncover, so they set out together to find their truths, meeting a variety of people along the way...
Characters
- Mckenna: She is a teenage girl who has never felt normal. Mckenna has suffered from night terrors all her life and could care less about football, prom, and other mundane high school-related things. She learns that she is the last Wise One.
- Seán: He is Mckenna's biological father and works as a children's book illustrator. He left Ireland when he was in his 20s, hoping to develop his career as an artist. Seán enjoys cooking. He has kept Mckenna's true nature and that of her mother from her.
- Andre: He is Mckenna's other father and was originally Seán's immigration lawyer. Andre is also a professor at Harvard Law. He likes crosswords and ironically can't lie to his family. He knew only some of the secrets Seán was keeping from Mckenna, but doesn't know the full story.
- Nissa: She is a new girl at Mckenna's school and lives with a foster family. She doesn't know anything about her real parents, not even her last name. All she has of her old life is a mysterious bracelet.
- The High Priestess (Maeve): She wants Mckenna to fulfill the first Scottish Scroll before finding her mother, otherwise they may both disappear. The High Priestess is an old friend of Abigail and Esme.
- Cillian: He's a youth delegate for Dublin and passionate about making changes for a more sustainable future. He is also an agent of the High Priestess and keeping an eye on Mckenna. His is mystic practitioner who develops feelings for Mckenna.
- Esme: She is an old friend of Abigail and Maeve and has a shop in Ballycastle, County Antrim. She provides Mckenna with some training to realize and gain control of her powers.
- Abigail: She is Mckenna's mother. She casted a spell when Mckenna was born, so no one could find her other than Mckenna when she turned 17. She left Mckenna and Seán not long after Mckenna was born to protect her family.
What I Liked
I enjoy having maps at the beginning of books, so I am happy to see that The Wise One has a map of Great Britain and Ireland, which came in handy while tracking Mckenna and Nissa's journey.
The Triskele/Triskelion/Triple Spiral adds a nice touch to the beginning of each chapter. The power of three comes up now and again, such as when Mckenna, Nissa, and Cillian form a circle to help Mckenna find her mother.
And it's so nice to have names for each chapter to build the anticipation. Additionally, they help the reader remember the events of each chapter.
Knowledge
I like when books written in English bring in other languages, even if I don't understand them. The Wise One has a sprinkling of Gaelic words here and there. While most books will provide an immediate translation, those that don't let the reader discover the meanings for themselves, adding a bonus feature for them to look up the language to fully understand what is being said.
As a lover of historical fiction, I was happy to learn about Ireland's monuments, history and lore.
Time Period
The lack of technology is quite prominent, but something I relate to immensely since I grew up in the 90s and lived in a household that was less connected than the families of people at school. (I've never had a Facebook account and got my first cellphone in 2017). With that being said, I enjoyed the sections of Mckenna using her father's encyclopedias for information since I would have done the same thing since my father has a lovely green set of Webster encyclopedias.
Five chapters in and she and Nissa have packed their things and are beginning their journey to Boston and later, Ireland. I found this to be a decent number of chapters to set the scene and introduce us to most of the main characters. I know that Mckenna and Nissa just met and it's cliché to say that they both feel as though they've "known each other forever" (48), but it does happen in real life. I haven't experienced that, but I have met one or two people whom I consider to be a kindred spirit. I can feel some of you raising an eyebrow, but this is only my opinion so you don't need to believe it.
Characters
Mckenna is written like a human being, faults and all, which makes her relatable. She has a short temper like Seán, and despite letting her powers and intuition guide her and Nissa to Ireland, she still feels anxious and angry at herself for not having planned their trip out ahead of time.
There's a good dose of character development that keeps the reader interested. We see Mckenna do double duty of trying to figure out her mystical side while maintaining and nurturing relationships with Nissa and Cillian. Again, this is an element that helps readers relate to the characters.
Flow
I've never been keen with books that change perspective, particularly when it's done too often (e.g. chapter to chapter), but I was not bothered by it in this book. The Wise One covers different people's journeys: Mckenna's, Nissa's, Cillian's, Seán's and that of the High Priestess. It's clearly felt that Mckenna's story is prominent and the others are secondary and tertiary because of the amount of content that's revealed, but it's all connected. The switch from one perspective to another is done well to continue the flow of the story. At no time did I feel pulled out of the story because of the perspective change.
On p. 111, the narrator points out that Mckenna's luck started with Nissa, which made me start to wonder about Nissa and what her true role was in connection with Mckenna and her search for her mother. I like that Katrina gave Nissa her own story that develops along with Mckenna's, and we see that she is mentioned in the second Scottish Scroll.
Theme
While the book is a work of fiction and fantasy, it grabs the reader's attention, primarily in the second-half of the book, to the urgency of taking care of the planet and embracing sustainable practices, not to mention having a respect for nature. Otherwise, "it'll fight back" (188) as we clearly see these days, what with the Arctic ice not freezing, brutal storms brewing around the world and many other natural disasters occurring.
When the Pieces Fit Together
There are some books that you happen to pick up and read at the right time in your life, and I felt that with The Wise One. With my involvement in the ASMR community since the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine, I've come to get to know the community and see a different side of the world that I never dreamed existed. The Wise One touches upon a few of those aspects, such as there being people who are genuinely nice and caring even with strangers, and that people's feelings are valid, whatever they are.
Mckenna's power of intuition and feeling what people around her are feeling reminds me a little of Cassie's power from the Hallmark movies and show The Good Witch. She somehow knows what people need and where they need to be to solve their problems. Mckenna shows signs of that, however, she is much more involved and connected to the energies of the Earth.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series! Get your copy on Book Depository, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Check out my other book reviews in the library.
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