Thursday, July 07, 2011

2011 book 170

Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns
So you know how sometimes you're reading a book and get so absorbed that you look up and some large amount of time has passed? This is one of those books. It's about a young princess and a lot is going on in her life when we meet her--it's her sixteenth birthday and also her sudden wedding day to the king of a nearby land, and oh yeah, she's the one person in a century gifted with a Godstone, a blue stone on her stomach that indicates ties to God and to a future unknown Service (the theology here is really very complex and interesting). But she's a fearful little thing, inexperienced in the courtly life, much more interested in books (especially holy texts and military history)--and pretty soon it's not just the politics of the royal life that she needs to worry about. Great, great stuff here, and unlike most YA fantasies, romance is a factor but not the main event (so refreshing!). It is the first in a trilogy, but don't worry, it wraps up very satisfactorily. If you like books with magic, and where girls learn to accept themselves and their gifts and to become total badasses, this is the book for you (fans of Kristin Cashore, take note). Totally an A.



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An e-galley was provided by the publisher.

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