LeGuin is one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors and this is the first book of three in possibly my favorite of her series, set is a richly developed fantasy world with many distinct cultures. This book takes place in a kind of Scottish-highlands like rocky mountainous land. The families who live there subsist mainly on sheep farming. Each family is burdened with a “gift”, or an ability, which ranges from the ability to speak to animals to the ability to kill with a look. The story focuses on two teens who both refuse to use their gifts.