6205 Smith, Linda. The Weathermage. Regina: Coteau Books. 320p. Tales of Three Lands, Book 3. $9.95pa. ISBN 1-55050-352-9pa. CCIP. DDC jC813'.54. (Ages 10–12)

In this concluding volume of the Tales of Three Lands fantasy trilogy, a prologue introduces Galia who was born during a storm on the island of Rork, part of the nation of Islandia. Galia joins the other two adolescent girls, Freya’s Catrina (“Cat”) and Ashdale and Uglessia’s Talisa Thatcher, in telling this tale.
        At age 12, Galia had unintentionally demonstrated her ability to change the weather, and Islandian wise women had taken her away to teach her how to use her power for good. When readers next meet Galia, she is a 15-year-old “exchange” student at a Freyan college for wizards where, while struggling to learn Freyan magic, she attempts to teach others her “magic.” At the same time, Cat, uncharacteristically not having heard from Garth Spellman in over a month, travels to Freyfall to see if she can locate him. Talisa is also in Freya because Cory Updale, having surrendered himself to Freyan troops at the conclusion of Talisa’s Song (2005), has been tried for murder, convicted, and sentenced to hang. Garth’s and Cory’s fates become intertwined when the cause of Garth’s disappearance is revealed to be kidnapping, the ransom being Cory’s release.
        Smith ties the many continuing plot elements together by rotating each chapter’s narrator, using a repeating pattern of Cat, Talisa, and Galia. This approach effectively increases tension by advancing a particular plot element and then requiring readers to wait until that narrator returns three chapters later. For readers who must know what happens after the book’s satisfying conclusion, Smith provides an epilogue. Highly recommended.