In the Uplands, members of each family lineage share a gift. One family’s gift is the ability to start a fire simply by pointing, another family can call animals to the hunt, and a third can move any object with a word and gesture. Orrec’s family possesses one of the strongest gifts of all, the power of “undoing.” With a look and a motion, Orrec’s father can destroy a mouse or devastate a mountainside. When Orrec’s gift surfaces at adolescence, he is terrified by his potential to destroy and his inability to control the gift’s force. Rather than risk harming others in a moment of uncontrolled emotion, Orrec voluntarily accepts a permanent blindfold to prevent him from invoking his gift. At the same time, he and a friend begin to question their gifts and the way Upland families use their extraordinary abilities strategically as they vie for position and power. Ursula K. Le Guin’s name is synonymous with outstanding fantasy writing, and this compelling story continues that tradition of excellence. The author moves beyond an engaging plot to raise questions about the ethics of power, family responsibility, and personal choice. (Ages 11–15)

Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill.

In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.