EG Books

From Preface:

"Patternmaking...offers the designer shortcuts in executing basic parts of a garment within a design, whether the design is original, copied, or mass produced.

The device which facilities the rapid development of patterns is the 'sloper.'

Manufacturers have their own set of slopers, developed from their own specific measurements or from a model form. Slopers must also be changed to conform to the fashion silhouette of the season. Thus, one may encounter a wide variety of basic slopers. The development of the patterns within 'Designing Apparel through the Flat Pattern' is such that the principles and instructions may be applied to any variation.

Our objective is to instruct an individual in the use of the flat pattern as a means of developing original ideas effectively and efficiently. We present thoroughly the utilization of three basic slopers - waist, sleeve and skirt - and some popular variations of these such as the kimono waist, raglan sleeve and pants. An employee in the garment industry using this book should avail themselves of the firm's basic patterns. An individual using htis book should draft slopers form measurements.

We suggest using the companion text, 'How to Draft Basic Patterns,' for instructions on how to develop a scientific basic pattern. A sloper may also be developed through draping muslin on the model form and then converting the muslin pattern into a paper sloper. Miniature slopers in 1/4 scale have been included for experimental use. ...All results should be tested in muslin for line, proportion and fit before they are used for cutting and construction of garments."






*****

Contents Include

* Basic Info to Develop Slopers & Patterns

* Slopers in 1/4 Scale

* Transferring Muslin Patterns into Paper Slopers

* Waists [Dart Manipulation; French Dart, Neckline Dart, Center Front Dart, Armhole & Waistline Darts; Elimination of Darts into Yokes & Decorative Seams; Stylized Waists with Shirring; Flanges; Princess Line Waists]

* Blouses [Tuck-in Blouse/Overblouse/Blouson]
* Waists with Midriffs
* Halters
* Surplice Waists
* Vests

* Facings [High Round Jewel Necklines; High Jewel Necklines; V-Necklines; Sleeveless Garments; Shaped Skirt Hemlines; Welt Seams; Sleeves; Stylized Hemlines]

* Buttons & Buttonholes [Sizes, Center Closings; Double-Breasted Garments; Vertical/Diagonal/Pockets, Belts & Cuffs]

* Collars [Convertible Collar, Mandarin Collar, Wing Collar, Peter Pan Collar, Square & Round Bertha Collar, Sailor Collar, Shawl Collar, Revere without Collar, Notched Collar, Double-Breasted Notch Collar]

* Sleeves [Straight Sleeve Sloper, Short Fitted Sleeve, Short Sleeve with Tightened Sleeve Cap, Short Sleeve with Turned-up Self Cuff; Sleeve with Elongated Armhole; Full Length Sleeve; Shirtwaist Sleeve; Sleeve Cuffs, Bell Sleeve, Bishop Sleeve, Balloon Sleeve, Puffed Sleeve Variations, Flared Sleeve Variations, Short Lantern Sleeve, Long Lantern, Petal Sleeve, Cartwheel/Circle Sleeve/ One-piece Kimono Sleeve Pattern; Two-piece Kimono Sleeve without Gussett, Dolman Batwing Sleeve; Raglan Sleeve]

* Skirts [Skirt Waistbands, Four-Gored Flared Skirt; Six-Gored Flared Skirt; 8-Gored, Trumpet/Tulip Skirt; Multiple Gored; Full Circle Circular Skirt; 3/4 Circle Circular Skirt; 1/2 Circle; 1/4 Circle; Dirndl Skirt with Stylized Hip Yoke; Peg-Top Skirt w/Shirred Waistline; Wraparound Slim Skirt; Shirred Tiered/Broomstick Skirt; Flared Tiered Skirt]

* Pants [Pants Length Variations; Pants Waistline Dart Variation; Bell Bottom Pants; Bell Bottom Pants with Flounces & Godets; Contoured/Body Fitting Pants, Straight Leg/Stovepipe Pants; Knickers, Harem Pants, Palazzo Pants, Bloomers, Gaucho Pants, Peg-Top Pants w/Shirred Waistline;Shorts, Culottes]

* Tab Openings for Waists, Sleeves & Skirts

* Pockets [One-piece patch pocket, stylized patch pocket, Seam Pocket, Welt Pocket, Torso with Stylized Seam Pocket]

* Princess Line Garments

* Garments Developed from Dartless Slopers

* Metric Conversion Table

you have no content list for the book. it is very neccessory and helpful to have a content list for each and every book. I can't make a buying decision without knowing what the book is talking about.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ALSO BUY " HOW TO DRAFT BASIC PATTERNS" BY THE SAME AUTHORS. This book is good because it teaches how to use the basic "slopers" (basic patterns) and manipulate them to create OTHER design styles. IT DOES NOT, however, describe in detail how to develop the basic sloper patterns. It skims over that part, showing only brief pictures and giving basic information about the basic slopers and assumes that you already have the slopers to create new flat pattern designs. "How to Draft Basic Patterns" is the companion book that gives detailed instructions( -almost too tediously detailed insturction...) on how to develop the basic sloper patterns. I personally think they made us design students buy these two books in school because it was a chance to cash in on students buying two textbooks for class. The authors could have put all the info of both books into one book- EASILY!! If you want a good ALL IN ONE book that teaches both basic sloper development and design style creation with the flat pattern, one which is also fairly easy to read and "get through" in order to develop your patterns, try the flat pattern written book by Helen Joseph Armstrong.

I'm a fashion design student and this book for is
very good. It's easy to understand. The images are really clear.By only seeing the image I can make the pattern quickly.

I bough this book expecting a more through coverage of apparel design. i was somewhat disappointed, mainly due to the fact that you have to buy the partner book, Pattern drafting, by the same authors in order to do anything with the instructions given. Pattern Making for Fashion Design By Helen Joseph Armstrong is a much better, easy to follow book for all levels of the pattern drafter and designer.

I love this book. It was delivered fast from Gary Smith as a used book. It was in A+ #1 condition. I appreceiatd the fast service. Thanks Gary!!!!

I have been stamping for a year, and enjoy learning new techniques, getting tips, and seeing examples to get some creative ideas of my own. This book is organized, informative, beautifully illustrated, and has easy to follow directions and tips to make all my projects come out looking good. This book would be excellent for experienced or beginning stampers.

On first glance at the table of contents, this book may seem to be for crafters of all levels, but I think it is best for those who already know how to stamp. Overall I think this book is useful, but it has a few drawbacks mixed in with some good advice and projects.

The first 17 pages of the Introduction could have been condensed into just a few. Also, I would have rather had pictures of the tools and techniques mentioned in this section, rather than just representations of finished products. I did think that the second half of the introduction was more informative. I especially liked the section on the elements of design.

In the Simple Stamping section Ritchie does not clearly list materials or take you through the stamping process at the time you most need it. I can understand not doing this later in the book for the more advanced projects, but I wish she would have included more pictures of intermediate stages at this point. You might ask yourself how hard can stamping be? However, to newbies such as myself who do not know much about inks and papers and such, more information would have been helpful. I do like the general tips she has scattered throughout the book.

The last section of projects is titled Frames and Backgrounds. This section contains the more advanced stamping projects. It is broken up into three smaller sections titled Embossing, Punch Art, and Special Effects. These projects all involve different layers of paper, ribbon, charms. By the way, all the projects in the book involve stamping on paper, but some of the techniques could be easily translated into projects using other materials.

In the appendix there is an Illustrated Glossary which is very nice and a list of sources. These sources should be fairly recent because the book was published in 2001.

I think people new to stamping may want to learn basic techniques from another book, but this book would be a good one to go back to after gaining some experience. This would make a nice addition to the collection of intermediate and advanced stampers because Ritchie has some really nice projects.

Lots of fun ideas, techniques (e.g. embossing, using a brayer, making envelopes,using windows), uses of different textures, etc. Has clear step-wise directions on how to do certain techniques. Not so complex that a beginner couldn't easily grow into this. I really like the discussion of visual appeal that is peppered throughout.

The book has nice photographs and examples of stamping, but doesn't have enough information about the techniques nor the supplies used. I didn't like it. I thought I would learned everything for stamping but this is not the right book. I think I would keep searching in other books.

Forrer starts this book with about 35 pages of historical notes, which sketch Hokusai's career and the social milieu in which he lived, albeit with some maddening omissions. The timeline on page 37 notes a brief period in which he was "reduced to penury" - something the narrative seems to skip over.

No matter, this book is really about the artwork: 130+ works, prints with a few drawings, in color or B&W to match the original work. Opaque, bright paper carries the printing well. Colors tend not to be saturated, something that disappointed me until I realized that it's probably true to the natural fading of inks 150-200 years old. In fact, the one real annoyance in the printing (plate 85) could have gotten its over-processed look from a misguided attempt to pull more contrast from a faded print than the print had to give.

A few paragraphs describe each image. The more helpful notes identify the site of a scene, or pick out "product placement" of the publisher's name among kanji characters that I could not make sense of unaided. A few times, descriptions of the obvious seemed un-needed. In a number of places, the author added art-historian notes on the different inking of other known impressions of an image. That could have been helpful in a more scholarly study, but the brevity of this catalog makes such detail seem a bit much.

None of that detracts from the art itself. Although the pieces aren't presented chronologically, they cover many parts of Hokusai's career. They include extracts from several series of prints, including the famous "36 Views of Mt. Fuji." No series appears in its entirety (the brevity I mentioned earlier), but I was happy to see selections from groups that I had not heard of before. Of course, the later work includes a few specimens of Hokusai's shunga - the erotic images that so startle a Western eye. This doesn't catalog Hokusai's work exhaustively or give the most detailed history of his life. It does, however, present a gorgeous collection of his work, a collection that goes well beyond what you might expect of an introduction.

-- wiredweird

Unlike Matthi Forrer's previous effort, entitled "Hokusai" (now sadly out of print), and which by far exceeded the current volume both in size (litterally, having been close to A3 format) as well as depth and scope, this issue is hampered by a diminished quality of graphical reproduction (small-sized images, mostly black & white), as well as an almost complete omission of Hokusai's accomplished late works - which are mostly colour paintings on silk (kakemono), rather than the more familiar ukyo-e prints.
Overall a regrettable step back.

This book gets 3 stars for the beautiful reproductions of Hokusai's work. There are approximately 130 plates, most of them in gorgeous color. But I found the text by Mr. Forrer to be very disappointing. There is an opening chapter of around 30 pages which is meant to give you some information about Hokusai and Japanese art in general. It is very straighforward and written in a dry manner. I was hoping for more of a biographical sketch of Hokusai but did not get it. Mr. Forrer writes that "apparently Hokusai lived for his art". Is that supposed to mean that he didn't have a life? I doubt that is the case but unfortunately it is how Mr. Forrer excuses the fact that he doesn't really tell us anything about the man who is generally thought to be the greatest artist Japan has ever produced. The descriptions that accompany the plates are equally disappointing. Hokusai worked mainly in woodblocks and Mr. Forrer spends a lot of time telling us about what variations (reproductions of which are not included) of these woodblocks looked like. He does this on page after page and I found it annoying. Mr. Forrer hammers home the same points on page after page rather than trying to make each plate interesting and distinctive. He keeps pointing out Hokusai's use of linear perspective and of his western style of painting skies (showing individual clouds rather than the traditional Japanese method of just painting a flat wash with some haze for the entire sky). This is interesting the first couple of times you read it but gets tedious after awhile. There is much more that could have been said about these works.If you just want to look at some pretty pictures you will enjoy this book. If you want a more complete picture you will need to look elsewhere.

Hokusai is to the educated Western eye synonymous with Japanese art. Indeed, "the Great Wave at Kanagawa" represents all the powerful symmetry of the simple, direct force of line drawing and
pointillism and the clean coloration that has come to symbolize the zen eye. While these gorgeous studies are woodcuts, their place in the artistic firmament is assured at least for those of us in the West. This beautifully designed collection has sewn-in
signatures and features The Wave on its cover and contains over four dozen satin-finish reproductions from Katsushika Hokusai's nature theme portfolio. The editor, Matthi Forrer gives us 16 pages of biographical and historical commentary.
It should be noted that much of the Nature work of Hokusai was accomplished in his seventh decade (he lived to about 90). To spend time with these pieces is to enjoy a whimsical and light-spirited romp through a time in Japan when it was barely open to any significant degree of Western influence. His work is fanciful and yet done with grace and simplicity. It is the technique of a painter who not only knows his medium, but manages to add the wry and jaded perspective of serendipity.
At the same time Hokusai was pouring forth his woodblock prints, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that the skies over much of southern England were darkened and polluted by the cranking-up of the machinery of the Industrial Revolution. The unselfconscious qualities of these colorful prints show people of leisure and workers alike, but it is a depiction of society that has yet to feel the impact of dehumanizing and Nature-damaging machinery. Plate #14 is a fine example. While showing workers in a lumberyard, the movements of the bodyframes tossing wood suggests a flow of energy that is natural and contrasts with
the death and injury brought to their counterparts in the West by the forces of industrialization. We can only imagine what a simpler life and times for Hokusai's countrymen must have been like and which these prints reflect. One can sit with and contemplate his elegant immutable cranes (plate #32) for hours.
This is a wonderful, rich compilation and Prestel Publishing gets major kudos for producing this affordable volume.

This is a wonderful high quality book. Hokusai's work is rich, intricate and completely captivating. Parents should just be aware that there are four or five plates in the very back of the book that are erotically explicit.

I can not praise Dr. Gaynor enough for his efforts on behalf of those of us suffering with cancer. His work is a blessing!

I used Dr. Mitchell Gaynors methods of sound healing in my recovey from stage 4 head and neck cancer. I used a Tibetan brass "singing " bowl by placing it on my clavical as I leaned back in a contour chair and rang it with a cloth covered stick. The vibrations, ringing through my bones and head were my pain reliever, meditation vehicle and path to recovery. I also follow Dr. Gaynors nutrition and phytonutrient recommendations found in his book "Cancer Prevention Through Nutrition". I am healthy again after 4 years since diagnosis and plan on a long proserous life. I'll be 67 in May. I highly recommend his books and wisdom as a top oncologist and specialist in integrated medicine. T A Law

It was truly magical how refreshed, alive, and invigorated I felt after listening to this meditation CD.
Dr. Gaynor is an expert in tapping into one's body and soul to promote health and healing. Since I have also read most of Dr. Gaynor's books I can honestly say he has made the connection between the mind and body for harmony in one's health. This may very well be his best work yet!

the material on this is great, but.... THE SPEAKER IS SHOUTING. His tone is NOT relaxing. I wish I could demand a refund.

When I started writing reviews, I deceided not to write reviews about books I didn't like. However for audios I use a more stringent approach, because once you walk out the door of the shop, you own the audio!

The contents (tracts) of the two CD's looked very interesting. But I found the meditations on CD1 to be too pedestrian. A larger disappointment occured for me with CD2. On this CD too many insturments were mixed in with chanting giving a "busy" feeeling to the pieces.

I do not critisize D. Gaynor personally. I found many interesting facts in his presentations and I like his concept of "entrainment". I believe he is sincere in his presentation. But the presentations lacked effect for me.

If yopu going to pay $20 for material in this area, I would recommend Pema Chodron (meditation), Ken Cohen (meditation and chi), Dr. Emmett Miller (mediation and medicine), Donald Campbell (meditation and music), Alan Watts (sound meditation), Jill Purce (overtone chanting)...etc.

I give this a three star rating, meaning "flawed but useful"

This book may have all of Piranesi's work, but the pictures are ridiculously small. I returned it the day it came in the mail.

A startlingly inexpensive volume even at cover price, and a fine overview of the architectural visions of this singular illustrator. The size of the pages don't allow for the fullest, most detailed reproductions of the etchings, but for what is possible the quality is very good.

Despite the minimal written information, translated from Italian into both English and German, this very generous book does indeed live up to its title of The Complete Etchings. Giovanni Battista Piranesi lived and worked in the mid 18th century, dreaming of architecturally recreating Ancient Rome. Thwarted from his grandiose dreams by practical matters of living, he found a viable outlet for communicating at least his visions by means of making some of the finest etchings the printing world has known. Concepts he could not translate into edifices became grand, eloquent and very personal prints which even today influence artists and stage designers, so atmospheric and rich are the renderings. Piranesi thought on the grand scale, and these many etchings demonstrate how his sense of space, of dark interiors with penetrating shafts of light, of temples, of prisons and prisoners, and even details of architectural elements of decor could become fine art. Though the amount of information about the man as written here is minimal, I doubt that there was much more to this man's biography, so absorbed he was with markings on copper plates. But the lack of biographical data is more than compensated for in the accompanying information on the pages with each etching. This is a fine addition to the libraries of artists, printmakers, architects, and yes, Dreamers! Well worth the price.

This book contains all the output of Piranesi, which is what accounts for its thickness. The display is almost purely visual, with only the most minimal of text. The illustrations are clear but fairly small for the most part. I use the book all the time in identifying Piranesis, and I suppose that any serious collector will want to own it. But for any further purpose it's not useful. The index, unfortunately, is totally inadequate and hard to use. The source of this problem (and it is a major one) is that the book is aiming for a readership that also includes Italian, French, and German readers, which means that text has to be minimal.

This is just a warning to those of you purchasing the in-print $11 version of this book, which Amazon carelessly has listed as the same as the out-of-print paperback version. The in-print version is NOT the complete etchings, and the only reason the reviews here suggest that it is is because Amazon has, as I have already said, linked the two editions, which are totally different. The in-print version is HIGHLY abridged, and is less than half as long as the older version. I was hoping the images were simply smaller, but this is indeed NOT the case. This edition has less than half the number of images as the older edition.

Just the right product and just in time. Finished my cert with the help of this fine product.

After finishing the 70-290 book in the set and taking the exam, I am shocked at how "out of touch" this book is with the actual exam. Topics that were barely touched upon in the book ended up being huge sections in the test and vice versa. I started buying Sybex cert books because of how well the CCNA book was done and how it actually related to the exam. I'm hoping the other books in this kit are a little more up to par.

a perfect tool to prepair yourself for MCSA/MCSE exam. And, of course, a very powerful written matterial for look-up purposes :)

+1 to authors.

I'm probably unusual, because I bought this kit AND the upgrade book. However, this kit was just indispensible, because there are sooo many topics you need to have understood and integrated in order to become an MCSE: Active Directory --sites, domains, users and computer, replication. IIS, remote desktop, resource management. TCP/IP, routing, DNS, DHCP, IPSec. Clustering, certificates, load balancing....You just can't get that kind of understanding casually, or even just by working with certain parts of the OS...you need a full course. Sybex was recommended to me by an instructor in my first class as having the best reputation and being the bestsellers, and I'm glad he told me.

I'm pretty fond of the Sybex books--They're well written and tend to explain things fairly well, however these books are often lacking in detail. The books don't cover some topics at all (ie: Expect a visual basic question in 70-291, yet it's not covered at all in the book) and the upper level books really rehash some of the earlier topics by a copy and paste methodology. For instance, although some topics in 70-293 overlap 70-291, it focuses on planning, which rehashing the 70-291 material doesn't help with. New topics in 70-293 are barely covered (Just 30 pages for clustering, which deserves much more!) I've taken to reading these books first as an overview, then reading the MS-Press titles for the nitty gritty details. The included questions are weak, expect questions about 5 times as difficult on the actual exams... The 70-294 book is about 420 pages, while the MS Press title for 70-294 is almost twice as thick... Not that MS Press titles are good reading, the assume you already know what they're talking about. The point--I haven't found a silver bullet for these certs, but these are a good start.

The World of Music has an expansive mission as it covers the world of music thru time. As such, it can be confusing at times. It feels like the Glossary was written by a different author and was not edited to sync with the text.

The Cd set is very helpful. But I wish that it was more expansive. It would be helpful to have the glossary tied to a CD of musical examples. There is a lot of material to cover in one semester and the students need all the help they can get to have all these different musical concepts gel and be retained.

this book was for one of my college classes, it wasnt the correct version but it had most of the similar things as the newer edition

I was impressed with how they got my book to me in such a hurry. I ordered my book on Monday morning and got it by Thursday afternoon.

I found this book very informative and interesting. It contains lots of information. I highly recommend this book. Included CDs come with wide variety of Music, which was intriguing and interesting to listen too.

I found this book very informative and interesting. It contains lots of information. I highly recommend this book. Included CD's come with wide variety of Music, which was intriguing and interesting to listen too.

This is all you need to pass this exam. A good book with some good practical examples.

Be sure to prep for the 70-441 exam with the experts from Solid Quality. Everything, including good test questions, is in this book.

This book really helped me prep for the 70-441 exam. I managed to pass it the first time. One thing the book itself doesn't really mention is that the exam questions are all case-study related, with "best answers" needed (when to use stored procs vs UDFs), not trivia-related issues (what stored procedure to call an when). The book could be improved somewhat to gear more for this test format.

The practice tests in the book CD are case-study related, but I still found them asking more questions that are trivia, as opposed to best-fit answers. Fot those, I recomend Transcender practice exams.

I used this book initially to supplement my study for the 70-441 exam.

Unfortunately, each chapter was very short and had only a few review questions, and the topics were presented in a very detached and superficial manner, as though someone had simply summarized the online documentation without truly understanding it.

The practice test supplied on CD did have more questions, but the test engine itself was buggy and hard to use. For exampe, you can configure the engine to generate a test on specific chapters and with a time limit, say 10 questions from chapter 5 with a time limit of 30 mintues, but it would just ignore your criteria and simply give you all 191 questions with no filtering and no randomization of the questions.

After a couple of frustrating weeks, I realized the book wasn't helping me understand the material so I switched to the Sybex book by Victor Isakov, and I'm so happy I did.

Sitting for an certification is hard enough. Sitting for a certification where you're unsure what the exam will cover or if you're prepared...pure hell. This is where I've always found the Passport series to be exceptionally helpful, and "MCTS Windows Vista Client Config" is a great example of this. Detailed in what will be covered in the exam while not over-whelming you with excessive information that would do nothing but serve to confuse, I found this book to be incredibly helpful in prepping for the 70-620. Further, the style of writing was direct and easy to follow and not sleep-inducing (an accomplishment for a tech training manual). I would highly recommend this book to anybody who is looking to take the 70-620 exam.

This book gives you a quick summary of the relevant topics but without much depth. You will need other resources to pass the exam. Some of the topics it emphasizes, such as group policy, are not likely to appear in the exam.

I looked through various MCSE exam books and this one is very intuitive. It's got great prep test questions and tips on passing the exam. Most books are vague on what Microsoft wants you to learn, but this book is right on the money when it comes to getting you ready for the exam. Highly recommended. If you want to pass your MSCE 620 exam you should pick this up.

This is a great book to have if you are going to sit for this exam. It's shorter than most of the big reference books, but it most certainly covers the objectives really well. If you think it doesn't hold a lot of information, then your wrong. I passed the Vista exam a month ago, using this as my primary study guide. I said primary, cause I also watched videos and took practice exams also to prepare. I recommended this book to anybody taking this exam. Not 5 stars cause I think you also need maybe a study guide, or videos, and don't forget the practice test, to prepare.

My husband is into fantasy reading, I'm not. However, I picked his new book one night to read (this one) & couldn't put it down! Three related, wonderful stories about female heroines & mystical creatures/magic. Couldn't put the book down, wanted to know what was going to happen next! Thoroughly enjoyed all three adventure stories!

Female, age (55)

I read this book as the full trilogy "The Unexpected Dragon" After "Pigs don't fly" it all went downhill from there. Don't get used to the character's in the story as they won't last for very long accept for her beloved dog poor old Growch who also was shamefully given and anti-climactic ending after all he endured. I actually burst into tears at the ending out of the utter dissapointment and was half inclined to fling the book across the room and half enclined to toss it in the fireplace!! The heroes finally reach there destination thousands of miles and numerous near death instances and are crossing the threshold of their rewards for all they had been through and at the height of their happiness are burned to death because some idiot the heroine was too dumb to let die or get rid of finishes them off!!! the killer then lives a long life and dies saying ha! I got them! The beloved main characters and their love are gone (this is not the ending it gets worse) It does not tell you what happens to the dragon black Jasper and after being introduced to a whole new set of characters in the end which the author expects you to get attached to it still leaves the ending open and left me with the disgusting sense of being cheated and an idiot for investing my time and emotion into reading the whole 852 pages of it! If you want to end up feeling sadness, hurt, betrayal and dissapointment this book is for you. I wish I could tell the author what I really felt about this book with all it's pompous acknowledgments! She should have spent more time around people willing to tell her the truth about her book- IT WAS AWEFUL!!! My only solace was writting this review to spare others the sadness, don't judge this book by it's beautiful cover!

I completly adore this book! it is my favorite and i have read it many times. The characters are easy to relate to. The ending of summers part in the story is sad yes BUT any book that can actualy make me cry is worth the read. And all is not lost, the characters do live on and do have a happy ending it just doesn't come right out and tell you "they skiped of into the sunset togeth holding hands Tra la la" It lets you pick up little hints to what happened and almost lets you chose the ending yourself without leting you feel empty..unless you fail to notice the small hints as to what happens. Oh and the book is about a yong girl who is the daughter of the town whore and as so hated,she choses to set out into the world with what little she has. This book has all the basics of a fantasy novel, referances to unicorns,A night in shining armour, Dragons, and evil forces with a delightful twist. With all the small plots within the overall polt the story never gets boring and it is dificult to pull your nose out of it, Just what i look for in a book! I hate books that only fallow the main plot and end to soon...but do not worry the book will not confuse you between stories, the main focus is alwasy present and clear.

I really hope this review helped! So do yourself a favor and pick up this wonderful book!

I'm still reading this book but am enjoying it greatly! The characters are wonderful and I think that the main character is realistic....she feels she is fat and ugly (admit it...we all think that some times) so far this is what I've read....
Sumerdai's mother is the village whore. When Summer;s mother dies she is thrown out into the world seeking a husband. Unwittingly she puts on her fathers ring (wich she later finds out is made from the horn of a unicorn and gives her the ability to talk to animals) Summer rescues a blind knight that has lost his memory, a shabby dog that is very...well you'll see for yourself..., a horse that is a princess in her land, a turtle, a bird, a so called "flying pig"...and thats about as far as I have gotten...anyways even though I have not fully read the book (I probably shouldn't be making this reveiew at this time but since no one else has....) I still think that people will enjoy it!!