Orc's Opal

YA-- This is the fourth in a series of five novels, and it has an introduction and cast of characters that will be helpful to those just discovering the books. Zady, an evil old witch, is bent on revenging her niece's death. Through the use of shape-changing and mind-reading, she manipulates the hero's children into stealing the orc's opal, which controls their use of magic. Young adults will appreciate the main characters' confusion of whether to listen to an adult telling them to do something they know is wrong or to do what they know is right. The time frames may be confusing to the uninitiated, but they can be sorted out for an enjoyable experience even for novice fantasy readers.