*Scroll down for English*
GWREIDDIOL CYMRAEG ~ WELSH ORIGINAL
Themau trist,anodd/upsetting, tough themes: ◉◎◎◎◎
Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◉◉◎◎◎
Iaith gref/language: ◎◎◎◎◎
Rhyw/sex: ◎◎◎◎◎
Hiwmor/humour:◉◉◎◎◎
Oed darllen/reading age: 10+
Oed diddordeb/interest age: 7-14
Her darllen/reading difficulty: ◉◉◉◎◎
Harry Potter – pwy ’di hwnnw?
Move over Harry Potter achos mae gan Gymru grŵp o arwyr newydd - mae Cadi Goch a’i chriw wedi glanio!
I feddwl bod cyfres Harry Potter mor boblogaidd, ’odd hi wastad yn syndod i mi mai dim ond y nofel gyntaf gafodd ei chyhoeddi yn y Gymraeg erioed. Mae’n amlwg fod y genre hud a lledrith yn apelio’n fawr at blant, ac felly roedd hi’n hen bryd i ni gael rhywbeth tebyg yng Nghymru. Diolch i Simon Rodway (sydd fwyaf adnabyddus am fod yn arbenigwr ar ieithoedd Celtaidd nac awdur plant) am greu byd rhyfeddol newydd i ni ymgolli ynddi. Dyma lyfr sydd i'w groesawu gan ei fod yn llenwi bwlch MAWR yn y ddarpariaeth Gymraeg yn y genre ffantasi a hud.
Mae’n anodd peidio meddwl am fyd J.K. Rowling wrth ddarllen y nofel, ond wir i chi, nid knock off o Harry Potter ydi Cadi Goch a’r Ysgol Swynion, er bod nifer o elfennau tebyg. Wedi darllen y nofel, dwi’n meddwl fod ’na falans da o bethau sy’n debyg a phethau sy’n gwbl wahanol i fyd Hogwarts.
Does ’na’m byd diflas am yr ysgol yma...
Yn syml (ac heb roi sboilars) mae Cadi Goch yn meddwl ei bod hi’n ferch arferol, normal (be bynnag ydi hynny). Pan gaiff ei hysgol ei chau (rhywbeth sy’n digwydd lot rhy aml) er mawr syndod iddi hi a’i theulu, fe gaiff hi gynnig lle mewn ysgol arbennig iawn - Academi Gwyn ap Nudd. Ond nid ysgol gyffredin mo hon, o na! Fel mae’r teitl yn awgrymu, ysgol swynion yw hon, lle mae’r disgyblion lwcus yn cael dysgu sut i wneud pob math o bethau cŵl mewn gwlad bell bell i ffwrdd. Sut mae cyrraedd y lle anhygoel ’ma o'r enw Annwfn? Wel cha i ddim deud wrthoch chi siŵr iawn, neu fydd pawb isio mynd yno!
Er bod ’na siom wrth i Cadi adael ei ffrind gorau, Cadi Ddu, (waw- dwy Cadi - confusing!) mae hefyd yn gyfle i wneud ffrindiau newydd fel Mohammed a Tractor! Lle ddaeth yr enw Tractor sgwn i? Stori hir debyg ond mae hi’n dipyn o gymeriad and not to be messed with! Dim ond un broblem fach sydd... mae ei hen fwli hefyd wedi cael lle yn yr ysgol newydd. Tybed beth fydd ymateb Cadi?
Brenhines bwerus a chreulon on the loose... o diar!
Wrth gwrs, mi fysa nofel lle mae popeth yn berffaith yn eithaf diflas, ond dydi diflas ddim yn air sy’n gysylltiedig ag Academi Gwyn ap Nudd! Er bod digon o hwyl i’w gael yno tydi bywyd ddim yn fêl i gyd yn Annwfn, ac mae ôl y rhyfel cartref yn dal i’w weld ar hyd y wlad, gyda thensiynau’n uchel. Mae’r frenhines greulon, a gafodd ei herlid, eisiau dychwelyd i deyrnasu Annwfn unwaith eto. Dydi hynny ddim yn swnio fel newyddion da i’r disgyblion newydd...
Ond ydi hi’n werth ei darllen?
Yn syml - ydi. Yn sicr. Dyma nofel sy’n plethu antur, dirgelwch, hud a lledrith a hiwmor at ei gilydd mewn cyfuniad perffaith gan ein tywys ni i fyd y tylwyth teg sy’n llawn rhyfeddodau a pheryglon (mae’r bobl efo creithiau ar eu gyddfau yn creeeeeepy – dwi methu disgwyl i gael gwybod mwy!).
Tydi hi ddim yn dasg hawdd i greu byd hollol newydd o scratch (mewn un nofel) ond dwi’n meddwl fod Simon wedi llwyddo (mae o hyd yn oed wedi gallu stwffio dipyn bach o politics i mewn hefyd!). Dwi wir yn gobeithio y ceith o’r cyfle i ddatblygu’r byd yma ymhellach. Er bod plot y nofel yn arallfydol ac yn ffantasïol ei natur, mae o hefyd yn ddigon credadwy ac yn pontio rhwng y byd o hud a lledrith a’n byd go iawn diflas ni!
Pwy fasa’n hoffi'r llyfr yma?
Unrhyw un sy’n licio magic. Ar gyfer darllen yn annibynnol, dyma lyfr sy’n addas ar gyfer ddarllenwyr eitha’ hyderus oedran top yr ysgol gynradd yn fy marn i, ond mi fasa fo’n iawn i flynyddoedd cynnar yr ysgol uwchradd. Mi fysa hi’n gwneud nofel ddosbarth dda fel bod darllenwyr o bob gallu yn cael y cyfle i’w mwynhau.
Harry Potter – who’s he?
Move over Harry Potter ‘cause Wales has a bunch of new young heroes now that Cadi Goch and her crew are in town.
To think that the Harry Potter series was so popular, it always surprised me that only the first novel was ever published in Welsh. It’s clear that the magic/fantasy genre is popular with our young readers, so it was high time that we had our own version here in Wales. Now, thanks to Simon Rodway (who is better known for being an expert on the Celtic languages than as a children's author) we have a whole new world to immerse ourselves in.
It’s difficult not to think of J.K. Rowling's creation when reading the novel, but believe me, Cadi Goch a’r Ysgol Swynion is not just a knock off of Harry Potter, although there are a number of similarities. Having read the whole novel, I think there’s a good balance of things that are similar and things that are completely different to the world of Hogwarts.
There's nowt boring about this school…
Without giving too much away, the story begins with Cadi Goch thinking she’s a totally average, run-of-the-mill, normal girl (whatever that is). When her school closes, (something we hear about far too often) and much to the surprise of her family, she’s quickly offered a place at a very prestigious school – Academi Gwyn ap Nudd. This however, is no ordinary school. For you see, as the title suggests, this is a place of spells and enchantments, where the lucky pupils are taught how to do all sorts of cool wizzardy things in a far away land. How do you even reach this magical place called Annwfn? Well, I couldn’t possibly tell you or else everyone would be trying to get there! (sorry, you’ll have to buy the book to find out)
Although Cadi is disappointed to leave her best friend, Cadi Ddu, (ok, two Cadis – that’s confusing!) moving schools is an opportunity to make brilliant new friends such as Mohammed and Tractor! I’m not even sure we ever find out how Tractor got that nickname, but I’m sure there’s a really interesting story there. Anyway, she’s one heck of a character and certainly not one to be messed with! There’s only one small problem... Cadi’s old bully has also been given a place at the new school... I wonder what Cadi will make of that?
Evil queen on the loose... oh dear, that doesn’t sound good…
Any novel where everything was fine and dandy would be pretty boring, right? Well, boring’s not a word we associate with Academi Gwyn ap Nudd! Although there’s plenty of fun to be had, all is not well in Annwfn and trouble is brewing. After the brutal civil war, tensions are high across the land. The cruel monarch, who was exiled, wants to return to the throne and her crazy supporters will stop at nothing to get her back in power. This is going to cause a headache for Cadi and her new classmates for sure.
But is it worth reading?
To cut a long story short- yes, very much so. This is a novel that gives us plenty of adventure, mystery, magic and humour in equal measure, as we journey through the portals of space and time to a world of wonder, and danger too! (the people with scars on their necks are creeeeeepy – I want to know more!)
It's not an easy task to create a completely new world from scratch in one novel, but I think Simon has succeeded with his first foray into children’s literature. He’s even managed to bring in a little bit of politics in too, but not too much, thankfully! I really hope we’ll see a lot more of this new world. Although the plot of the novel is otherworldly and magical in nature, it’s also remarkably believable, and I really bought-in to the fact that we have our own, boring everyday ‘muggle’ world, and then you’ve got these portals that can take you to a whole new magical realm.
Who’d like this book then?
Anyone who likes magic basically. For independent reading, this is a book that is suitable for the confident readers of the top age of primary school IMO, but it’d also be ok for the early years of secondary school. This one’s a good candidate for a class novel so that the teacher could read and readers of all abilities could enjoy it.