Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Published: New York: Greenwillow Books, 2011
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 423
Total Page Count: 116,354
Text Number: 338
Read Because: reviewed by rachelmanija; checked out from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Princess Lucero-Elisa bears a Godstone, marking her predestined for service—but at sixteen she has achieved nothing, has no remarkable skills, and binge-eats to quell her feelings of inadequacy. Married to a foreign king with a country on the brink of war, Elisa must take control of her life in order to discover and fulfill her destiny. The Girl of Fire and Thorns has a staccato, artless first person narrative which is common in young adult literature and often makes me avoid the genre—but it also puts character actions at the forefront of the story and keeps the pace high; a blessing in disguise, as I almost gave up on the book a third of the way through and only its mindless readability kept me going. Unempowered, obese Elisa is a brutally depressing protagonist, not because she angsts but because her self-hatred is so believable, heightened by Carson's eye for physical nuance. Her self-realization shines in comparison and often is achieved in just the right way—self-reliance balanced by meaningful relationships, believably-paced character growth, and a dogged determination not to fall into the pitfalls of tired romantic tropes or overt fat-shaming; the non-white setting also shines, and the book's magic system is intriguing and unique—but Elisa's weight loss means that it's all damned by the connection between fat and miserable, non-fat and happy. That message leaves me with lingering misgivings and only a reserved recommendation. This isn't an easy book, and in many ways it shouldn't be: Elisa's growth is hard-won and comes at a price, and I appreciate that. But it's also soul-crushing and tainted, despite the best intentions, and it's hard to see past that.

Review posted here on Amazon.com.

We have library cards! (!!!) It only took a year, but who cares because yaaaay.

Book Review: The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman

Title: The Fall of the Kings
Authors: Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman
Published: New York: Bantam Books, 2003 (2002)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 505
Total Page Count: 116,859
Text Number: 339
Read Because: fan of Swordspoint, bought at Borders going out of business sale
Review: Some sixty years after the events of Swordspoint, generations after the nation's last king was assassinated, a rebellious ancient history professor meets a wayward nobleman with royal blood in his veins. The spark between them threatens academic overthrow and treason. The Fall of the Kings is a fitting sequel to Swordspoint, which is no mean feat. Literal fantasy enters the fantasy of manners setting with grace; this sequel is too distinct to be a lifeless repetition of its predecessor, but it has just enough carry-over to incite a bit of recognition and nostalgia. It's as indulgent and involved as one could wish for—it feels almost like canonical fanfiction, but that well suits the tone of a fantasy of manners (although it carries some of slash fanfiction's negatives, including problematic or nonexistent "traditional" female roles). The first two thirds of the book are a joy; the final third begins to wear: the book is a touch overlong and the number of points of view make some plot development redundant and so deadens the otherwise hard-hitting conclusion. What I liked of The Fall of the Kings, I loved: the genre, its indulgence; the queer romances and strong characters and the sheer, fascinating variety of relationships. But ultimately, it's self-indulgent pseudo-fanfic, and while a fitting sequel it isn't classic material in its own right. But that ought not discourage the interested: I recommend it.

Review posted here on Amazon.com.