Forward Book of the Year Finalist

What the Reviewers are Saying...

     "When sixteen-year-old Jodi Greer goes for a walk outside, she finds her childhood friend Neil Moran sleeping near their private retreat. She enters his dream, at first trying to awaken him so they can return home, but he is unable to wake up. The two friends thus embark on an interesting and dangerous journey together in the beautiful but equally frightening fantasy world of Aten...
     The author creates a combination of action thriller and romantic fantasy in this novel. She lives in Ontario, Canada, where, she says, the beauty of the forests and fields gave her inspiration to create the alluring, though often scary, world of Aten. Sinclair plans a series of books that will take readers on more adventures with Jodi Greer and her friends....
     In Key to Aten, Sinclair cleverly combines the elements of fantasy writing—setting the story in an unreal world with incredible characters who have experiences that are not likely to come true—while she explores the very real confusion of the teenage years...
     Readers, too, can take a moment to consider the theme of conflicts in decision-making—and whether they agree with the decisions that Jodi and Neil make about their lives in Aten, and, most significant, their choice whether to remain there or to return home.
     This compelling but complicated novel, with its appealing female protagonist, who asserts herself despite the danger she faces, will attract young adults who enjoy an adventure and acknowledge the uncertainties of adolescence." 
--Carla L. Verderame, FOREWORD MAGAZINE

     "The reader will find it difficult to put down this novel as a new adventure in this strange world appears every few pages. The heart-stopping, menacing spiders, the evil selling of people as slaves and the disgusting slugs that digest people alive will entertain even the most reluctant reader. Each new twist in the plot introduces another factor that gradually helps to build the setting and test the characters as they reveal the author's themes of peaceful community, the necessity of knowledge and the centrality of friendship and love to human life. Jodi's references to life on Earth and her puzzlement at the customs of Aten re-enforce its bizarre nature. The dialogue is quick and natural, sometimes cryptic and mysterious enough to draw the reader on but never awkward or lecturing. Sinclair is careful to let the story evolve instead of falling into the trap of explaining too much."  Recommended Joan Marshall,  Winnipeg, MB. CM . . . . Volume XII Number 15