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The Secret Country (The Secret Country Trilogy, Vol. 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Pamela Dean
Publisher: Puffin
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
New (32) Used (69) Collectible (2) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 405243
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0142501530
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780142501535
ASIN: 0142501530
Publication Date: October 13, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
For the past nine years, cousins Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played at "The Secret"-a game full of witches, unicorns, a magic ring and court intrigue. In The Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real. They have arrived at the start of their game, with the Country on the edge of war. What was once exciting and wonderful now looms threateningly before them, and no one is sure how to stop it . . . or if they will ever get back home.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Possibly the best book I have read in 40 years November 20, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not Narnia. These are real kids and real adults too (seen through kids' eyes). The language is deft, dense with layers of meaning and allusion - the more you bring to this book, the more you get from it. (The third book also works as a great source of enjoyable poetry.) Run, don't walk, to your nearest source and buy all three now.
The Secret Country March 27, 2007
This book and its sequels are three of my very favorites. By chance I found them in the book store. I was just browsing, and the cover page caught my eye. Grabbing it, I read the back and was immediatly intrigued. It was a book about something that made me think. I bought it and its sequels, and immediatly fell in love with them. Pamela Dean's expressive and realistic characters are so inviting that you can't put it down. The dialoge is amazing, and the plot intricate with its many slip-ups and twists.
For years five very different cousins Ruth, Ted, Patrick, Ellen, and Laura have played a game they call the Secret. It is filled to the brim with mystery, drama, court intrigue, mystical beasts, enemy kingdoms, and most of all, magic. The Secret has characters that the cousins have based off of themselves, or who they wish to be. Lady Ruth, Prince Edward, Prince Patrick, Princess Ellen, and Princess Laura, are the royal children. There are many other quirky characters that fill the game and keep it interesting. Then, by chance or by fate, the five find themselves in their Secret Country, playing their pretend roles as the many twists and turns of their plot unfold. The cousins soon realize that they must stop everything they acted out at home, and that they have to find a way back to their real lives.
The Secret Country is a book that describes every book-lover and play-maker's dream: what if the imaginary worlds we dream about become real? It is a book every lover of fantasy should read.
 the secret country January 22, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ted and Laurie found a sword that took them into the wondrous world that they and their cousins Ruth, Patrick, and Ellen created. Many different events have been happening and few have turned out the way they were supposed. It seemed that their fantasy world was taking control now and they were just visiting. It was time to play their roles and find out what was happening. If you are interested to find out what happens next, read The Secret Country by Pamela Dean. I would highly recommend this book to all teen readers.
The first reason I would recommend this book is because of its plot. For example, the "secret country" took years to prepare and to make choices. Another instance is when Ted has a dream of a fencing match with Lord Randolph and uses the dream as a base for his fencing techniques. The last instance is when they use Sham's Ring to pause time in their own world so they stay out of trouble.
Another reason I would recommend this book is for its indifference from other fantasy books. Such as, the Unicorns are the most powerful beings. Another example is that five kids are to change the country's destiny and to save it from the Dragon King. A third example is that there are swords that allow them to travel at will between the worlds and are able to cast light. One last example is that their game is turning real and that they have no control.
The final reason I would recommend this book is because of its creativity. Like, the children must not get caught in their other world clothes. The characters each have their own abilities and weaknesses. Ruth is a witch, Ted is a practiced swordsman and Laura is a princess and there are more abilities for each character. And that the secret country is on Pennsylvania's time meaning that it's hard to sneak out and not get in trouble for all of the kids.
I would recommend this book to all readers that prefer fantasy books. This book starts out slow, but eventually the plot speeds up and it becomes more interesting. The plot will keep you wanting more as you get further into it, although it will still have slow parts. There is some action throughout the book, but the amount increases as you near the end of the book. If you liked this book be sure to grab a copy of the next two books in the series.
N. Koester
 The Secret: Each Book Gets Better January 7, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I originally picked up this trilogy because it looked interesting and the other reviewers raved about it. Chapters into the first book, I began to wonder why it was so beloved. More questions than answers swam across the page, drowning me in confusion and frustration. I felt thrown into a sea without a life preserver. The language was too archaic at times, and I constantly felt I was not being given enough information to process the storyline.
I felt like I was plowing through the book with an old, tired horse in a massive field full of rocks while the burning sun beat down from above. Being a complete-ist, however, I trudged on and picked up book #2. Halfway through, I pleasantly discovered that my horse was more spry, the rocks had disappeared from the field, and I was wearing a broad-rimmed hat. I was still plowing, but it wasn't nearly as painful. By book #3, I had a tractor, cool breeze, and lemonade in my hand. The work was no longer a chore but a welcome vacation I found thoroughly enjoyable.
I can hardly account for the transition, but it did happen. I recommend the trilogy to those who are not afraid to persevere in the beginning to achieve a great reward in the end.
Five stars for the trilogy July 27, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I picked this book up at the store several times, and always set it down again. Finally I found an old edition at a used book store, and took the plunge. Boy, am I glad the trilogy was reprinted! The Secret Country ends rather abruptly, leaving very little resolved except the reader's intention to find book number two. Which I did. And read in one sitting the same night. I did not understand all of it, and certainly did not catch all the literary references, but when I reached the end of the trilogy, I wanted nothing so much as to pick up the first and start it again, merely for the pleasure of keeping company with the likes of Ted, Ruth, Laura, and the various denizens of the Hidden Land. And much the same way as I check every wardrobe I see for a passageway to Narnia, I will now keep a sharp eye for strange houses surrounded by hedges. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my book calling...
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