The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Publication Date: September 20th 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Hardcover, 432 pages
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns was a bit of a roller coaster read for me.I started reading it feeling beyond excited,I found myself a bit confused at the first chapters,then a bit bored through the endless descriptions and political games and finally amazed at how good a fantasy book it turned out to be.
I really enjoyed Rae Carson's writing style.This book is pure YA fantasy and I have to admit that I had to encounter one so good since Graceling by Kristin Cashore.But the writer chose to throw us in immediately in her world,without doing much explaining about how her world worked or functioned.For one thing,for the better part of the story I kept wondering what on earth is a Godstone,what's the big deal about it and how it worked or what it meant.For the better part of the book I just kept wondering or guessing,cause clearly that Godstone was crucial to the story,but why?Everyone seemed to know or at least have a clue but the reader and the bearer herself!
Anyway,the details sometime were revealed and after that,WOW!As soon as everything clicked into place I just couldn't put this book down,something I can't say for the first part of it and the endless political games.
I loved how Carson portrayed her protagonist Elisa and her development throughout the book.But here,I just have to say something that kept bothering me the whole time.Because you see Elisa,is a rather fat girl,smart but not trying to pass as one at least at the begining.Surely,through what she lives through,she changes,and those changes were delivered brilliantly.But, one of the changes she goes through is losing weight.And I don't mind one bit that fact.What bothered me though,was that as soon as she lost that extra weight,everyone seemed to pay more attention to her and like her even more,even the King who paid her little attention before.Surely,losing weight may make (and note the may here) a woman more attractive (though here I might add that when a woman loses weight she gains more confidence,so I really don't know whether that attractiveness comes from the lost of weight or the gain of confidence...) but in this book,I somehow got the feeling that everything started changing as soon as Elisa lost that extra weight.And that bothered me a bit.Call me oversensitive,but it did.Cause I just happen to believe that you don't have to be thin or beautiful to be liked or respected.Thankfully,those mentions were few in the book thus helping me stay focused on the actual story.
Anyway,apart from the weight thing and a rather slow start,The Girl of Fire and Thorns turned out to be a good story and with the things happening by the end,I can certainly say that I will read the next book in the series.I really want to know what or if anything new happens with a certain someone in this book...
*This title was reviewed via NetGalley
I loved this book! I thought the history of the story really grabbed me! Nice review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I might really like this book/series.
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