LE CINQUE SORELLE DI KINTAIL

Le Cinque Sorelle di Kintail sono una catena montuosa a nord di Glen Shiel, nelle Highlands scozzesi. Secondo un’antica leggenda si tratterebbe di cinque sorelle trasformate in montagne da un mago, nell’attesa che cinque fratelli giungano dall’Irlanda per liberarle baciandone il suolo.

Charlie e i suoi fratelli sono cinque ragazzini di Dublino rimasti orfani. Da quando sono morti i loro genitori vivono  con la zia Rose, ma le cose non vanno per il verso giusto e la tensione in famiglia è sempre palpabile. Nessuno riesce a superare la perdita, soprattutto Charlie, un eterno sognatore che fatica a accettare che l’età della spensieratezza sia finita.

Durante una vacanza sulle Highlands, Charlie scopre un antico volume nel quale è riportata l’antica leggenda delle Cinque Sorelle di Kintail. E se fossero lui e i suoi fratelli i cinque irlandesi destinati a salvarle? Con l’aiuto di un vecchio antiquario i ragazzi si troveranno presto coinvolti in un’avventura straordinaria, dove incantesimi e lugubre presenze la faranno da padrone. Un’avventura grazie alla quale riscopriranno il legame che li tiene uniti ed impareranno ad affrontare con coraggio le sfide imposte dalla vita.

The five sisters of Kintail – YA novel

The Five Sisters of Kintail are a popular tourist attraction in the Scottish Highlands. According to an old legend five siters living in that area were waiting for their betrothed to come from Ireland. They had already been waiting for a longtime but no one seemed to come to marry them. However, they never gave up hope and asked a wizard to cast a spell on them to preserve their beauty just in case the princes from Ireland would show up one day. The wizard transformed them into five beautiful mountains. It is believed that one day five Irishmen will come and break the spell by kissing the mountain rocks and bringing the ladies back to life.

 

Charlie and his four brothers come from Dublin and are on holiday in the Scottish Highlands. They have lost their parents in a car accident and now live with their aunt but they do not get along very well. It is very difficult to cope with such a loss and the future seems to have nothing in store for them. Aunt Rose cannot replace their mother, albeit her efforts, and the tension in the family is palpable. A week in the Scottish Highlands is Rose’s hope to establish a bond with her nephews but things do not seem to go as expected. The kids prefer spending their time alone. Patrick is the eldest and nearly eighteen, he thinks he can take care of his younger brothers and believes Rose’s presence is useless. Craig spends his time playing videogames and escaping from reality. Charlie is a dreamer and cannot accept the fact that his carefree childhood is over. Joy and Mickey are just small children missing their parents a lot.

 

One day Charlie finds an old book telling the legend of the Five Sisters of Kintail. What if Charlie and his brothers are the five Irishmen who can break the spell and set the five sisters of Kintail free? With the help of an old man owning an antiques shop in the village, Charlie and his brothers will start a journey to the Five Sisters of Kintail, determined to set them free. But it is not an easy task and the kids will have to learn to cope with difficulties, disappointment and all the obstacles life puts in their way, discovering, in the end, the true meaning of love and brotherhood.