Kestrel Hath and her twin brother Bowman live in the city of Aramanth, a place where school exams and achievements determine a person's social standing in the community. Most of the citizens do not question this order of things, but a few, like the Hath family, rebel against the system. The rebels are encouraged by the ancient Aramanth legend about a time when the Wind Singer, a device in the center of town, sent beautiful sounds wafting over their city and all the people were equal and everyone lived together in harmony. But many years ago, the key that made the Wind Singer sing was taken by the evil lord Morah, in a war.

When Kestrel dares to voice her opposition against the system in Aramanth she causes humiliation and a loss of social standing for her family. Now she must make up for her rashness by saving Aramanth from itself. She must find a way to bring the city back to the harmonious times of the Wind Singer, by finding its voice, its key.

Kestrel knows that all she can do is try. She can no longer live in the shifting class society of Aramanth. From high on the wind singer's tower she shouts down to the officials of Aramanth, "I'm sorry for me, and I'm sorry for you, and I'm sorry for this whole sorry city!" And thus, starts the adventure.

The twins, joined by their friend, Mumpo, escape from Aramanth with the help of an old map and set off on a quest to find the Wind Singer. But, first, they must face the evil Morah, some zombie-like old children, and the beautiful Zars, who are members of Morah's army programmed to kill.

Will the three children find the Wind Singer's voice and eliminate the evil that has gripped their city for centuries? Will they be able to withstand the seemingly insurmountable trials and save Aramanth, or will their return home put the city in even greater danger? And what is the mystery surrounding Mumpo?

William Nicholson has skillfully created a fantasy world that also encompasses his view of our contemporary educational system --- a system of testing that often destroys children's self-esteem and confidence by branding them "stupid or failures." Nicholson says, "That's what exams do and that's why I created a story in which the system is blown away."

Once you get caught up in the adventures of Kestrel and Bowman, you'll be among the readers waiting for the subsequent books in Nicholson's Wind on Fire trilogy. The second title, SLAVES OF THE MASTERY is due out in September 2001.

   --- Reviewed by Audrey Marie Danielson