The Keeping Place: The Obernewtyn Chronicles 4

By Isobelle Carmody

When a Misfit is kidnapped, Elspeth finds she has little choice but to join the growing rebellion against the Council. Her extraordinary mental powers could tip the scales of the struggle, but Elspeth feels torn between toppling the corrupt authoritarian regime and seeking clues vital to a more personal quest—her ambition to destroy what remains of the Beforetime weaponmachines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 9, 2008
• ISBN: 9780375892400

Isobelle Carmody

Isobelle Carmody wrote the first book in the Obernewtyn series over twenty years ago. Since its publication this series has consistently been on the Australian bestseller list. Isobelle divides her time between Australia and Prague.

Reviews for The Keeping Place

[siri51 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Too long, too complicated and really didn’t progress the overall story much. The rebellion section was good - didn’t see the betrayal coming but then we needed to read long dream trail descriptions. Hope next in series is better!

[ncrainstorm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Keeping Place is the fourth book in The Obernewtyn Chronicles series by Isobelle Carmody, originally published in 1999. This one was a bit of a disappointment to me. All the books in the series so far have had ups and downs in the pacing, but this one was slow most of the time. The Dreamtrails parts of the story were not very exciting, even felt a little silly to me. Dragon, the wild little girl, was kept out of all the real action in the book, which I think was a mistake as she's a great character and I missed her. I've noticed that the books were published four-five years apart, so I expect more from the stories. I still like the series, and I'm hoping for better in the next installment.

[jami_leigh · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really, really dislike when a series is going good, and then it feels like the main character becomes dumb as a brick. I figured out most of what was going on in this one well in advance, and whenever that happens, it's like watching the dumb girls in a slasher flick. "No, don't go upstairs when you just heard a strange noise and there's a killer on the loose!! No. Stupid. It's NOT just the cat! And there you go, hacked up, because you ignored the Rules of horror movie survival."
Will still be working on the series, but more because i like the worldbuilding than anything else. I just dislike when the MC is plotstupid, when otherwise they're really smart.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elspeth is faced with leading the Misfits when Rushton disappears. There are multiple concerns to juggle, along with her fears for Rushton and Dragon and Matthew. Along with the unfolding rebellion in the Land, there is also her quest for the various signs. There was a feeling of urgency about most of the book and I was left wanting to know "what happens next!" when I finished.

[katelisim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is book 4 of the Obernewtyn Chronicles. Rushton is missing and the rebellion is about to start, oh no! And during it all, Elspeth needs to search for the signs of her quest to prevent the next Great White. Like the others of the series, lots of action and an increasing complexity of characters and plot. We see more of the Dreamtrails and how the Misfits' abilities are growing.