With SECRET SACRAMENT, New Zealand teen fiction writer Sherryl Jordan adds richly to her fantasy oeuvre. In her convincingly realized world, two nations --- one powerful, one weak --- live side by side. One inhabits a vast empire; the other, a narrow strip of land. The Navorans are civilized (or so they think). The Shinali are traditional, living their lives as peaceful hunter-gatherers. Enter the unlikely hero, Gabriel Eshban Vala, toss in a prophecy and words like destiny, vows, and dreams, and you have the makings of a perfect fantasy --- a fantasy in which one man will bring about both destruction and rebirth.

Born the son of a wealthy merchant-mariner, Gabriel is to take over his father's thriving business one day. But when he witnesses a brutal act committed against a Shinali women, he is inextricably bound to a different destiny. Highly intuitive by nature, Gabriel is a born healer, a vocation he pursues despite his father's demands. His gift as a healer is finally legitimized when he is accepted into the Citadel, the most esteemed institution in the land. He is soon in league with the powerful of the empire, including Empress Petra herself, who comes to rely on his ability to interpret dreams. In gaining her favor, he makes powerful enemies and witnesses firsthand the corruption that is weakening the empire, rotting it from the inside out. Soon, he will be called upon to make a choice --- a choice that will threaten Navora, his beloved Shinali, and his very life. Who will prevail?

--- Reviewed by Tammy L. Currier

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