The Wind Singer

Tests, tests, tests. Every day a new exam. This is what life is like in Aramanth, a city where every family has its own rating. Inside the city's high walls lay the five different coloured districts: grey, maroon, orange, scarlet and white. The higher your rating, the better your accommodation. The lower your rating, the poorer your accommodation.

In the center of Aramanth lies the wind singer, a tall structure that channels the wind to make low mournful sounds. No one knows why it is there or why it was built.

When Kestrel Hath and her twin, Bowman, try to rebel against the way of life, their family is humiliated and send to live in the grey district, the lowest district there is. With the help of a map given to them by the emperor, Kess, Bowman and Mumpo - a newly made friend from school - they escape the cite through the old salt mines.

Meanwhile, their parents, Hanno and Ira Hath plan their own rebellion. Hanno is sent to a study course to help him with the High Examination. Here, Hanno encourages others to write about what they know instead of answering the questions. Ira goes with baby Pinpin to sit on the wind singer to prophesy.

Across the desert plains, through the forest, over Crack in the Land and into the Hall of Morah, Kestrel, Bowman and Mumpo must find the voice of the wind singer, so that their people can be free.

The Wind Singer is the first in a griping trilogy by William Nicholson. With a compelling plot and likable characters, it's a book you won't want to put down.