The Books of Great Alta: Comprising 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna' (Great Alta Saga)

Originally printed as two books (Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna), this is a book about an orphan girl who is taken in by this tribe of women. It follows her growing up, becoming a woman, and fulfulling a prophecy. This book provides an awesome look into Goddess culture societies, and is a great buy for anyone looking for a book with strong female characters. This is, by far, my favorite book that I own (except I own it as the 2 separate books).

This is a simply amazing novel. Even if you don't like the fantasy genre, it's a good read. Particularly interesting are the ways the Myths, the Legends, the Histories, and the Story all merge together and all differentiate. Something to ponder while you read this is: "what is true?" Is "the story" correct? Is "the History" correct? And who wrote "The Story"? I'm still puzzling those over, and it makes for quite a good read.

Sister Light Sister Dark and White Jenna entrap you and hold you tighy until your finished. These stories, of a young girl unable to accept her place in the world, inspire and captivate you. I couldn't put either of these books down and when I finally had to, I ran straight to the library to find out if there was a third. No such luck. I would highly suggest these tales to women of all ages. I read it when I was 14.

The Books of Great Alta, a compliation volume consisting of 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna', has just kept me up until 5:30 in the morning. I last read these books when they first came out, but have been reminded of them since and was delighted to find that both are still readily available. They are examples of Jane Yolen's brilliance as a storyteller and her profound skill as a maker of myths to rival any writer you care to name.Part of Yolen's genius lies in her skillful weaving of reality and fantasy, the melding of myth and pseudo-history (with some quiet digs at modern historians along the way - but that's just an added extra) to form a convincing whole. The book is full of strong, memorable characters, most especially her central heroine, Jenna. Jenna is human enough both to want to be the Anna, the chosen one, and at the same time to want to reject that destiny. Fantasy and reality, blended and woven, but not like a piece of cloth, flat and two-dimensional - Jane's work is more like a fine basket, with height, width and depth, filled with brilliant writing and replete with original ideas that for all their newness still resonate at a deep level. Her concept of the dark sisters has introduced a new archetype to modern myth, and it is so powerful and rings so true that from this time forth we will wonder how we did not know it before.These books belong on your shelf if the old songs are in your heart (and she provides the songs as well!) and if you have ever seen your dark sister in the mirror, only waiting to be called into being. Jane Yolen is a master of her art, and this is one of her many master-works. May you enjoy it as much as I have.

This book is one of the most haunting, intense and interesting with handfuls of humour thrown in, books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Ms. Yolen makes the reader actually believe in 'dark sisters', 'The Goddess Alta', 'Jenna' and several other characters and happenings of the story. I would recomend this book to anyone, young or old, male or female. I liked it so much, I took my on-line handle from my favorite character. (spelled slightly different in my case, however)