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dananana's review
adventurous
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Ableism
Moderate: Blood, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia
bookishcharlotte's review against another edition
5.0
Joseph Elliott’s ‘The Good Hawk’ is an engaging YA fantasy novel with a rich variety of characters, a plot that kept me guessing right up until the heart-stopping final few pages, and honest, likelike representation of disabled characters and characters living with mental health problems. The combination is, if I haven’t gushed enough, really rich and exciting, and the message it sends that being a hero has everything to do with your values, beliefs and traits as a person and nothing to do with societal expectations of your capabilities is pretty powerful.
On Goodreads, ‘The Good Hawk‘ is categorised as suitable for children (middle grade) and young adult readers. While interesting and varied, ‘The Good Hawk’ has been written in plain English, with the sentences structured in a manner that aids comprehension and readability. You also won’t find a plethora of description; Elliott’s world-building happens in the moment, alongside the heart-pounding action. When it appears, descriptive imagery is employed efficiently to set the scene, never detracting from the plot. It’s also told in the first person, with the chapters divided up between Agatha and Jaime.
In much the same way as Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’ has an appeal powerful enough to engage with readers of all ages, there’s no good reason for adult readers to disregard ‘The Good Hawk’ as a book only for children or young adult readers. Firstly, there’s no ‘only’ to be found in books that fall into those categories, and secondly, ‘The Good Hawk’ is an exciting, engaging read that should appeal to anyone of any age, provided they’re interested in the genre and the plot.
(Are you impressed that I didn’t fall into a passionate defence of young adult books? I am.)
Moving on.
Some elements of the plot are pretty darn dark, and I say that as a reader with a propensity for reading all kinds of dark things. (My favourites of which are by Stephen King, Lovecraft and Vandermeer.)
At the very start of the novel, Jaime’s clan is attacked on his wedding night. It’s bad timing for the clan, as they’re unprepared to face battle, and due to the occasion, many of them are understandably deep in their cups. Jaime and his new wife, Lileas, escape without injury because they’re not with the clan – an old custom sent them out alone in a boat to spend the night together. (Agatha is there too, but not so much in service of an old custom as because she wanted to be.) Despite their best efforts, they’re too late to give aid to their clan, and instead they see the surviving members pulled onto boats by the attacking force, and the gory image of the heads (sans bodies) of their clan elders displayed triumphantly over the gate.
It’s a similar case when Lileas loses her life. By that point in the narrative, Jaime, Lileas and Agatha had captured a Norwegian prince, with the intention of ransoming him for the surviving members of their clan. But he tricks Agatha into leaving him alone with Lileas, escapes his bonds, and murders her in cold blood – slitting her throat in front of Agatha and Jaime.
Pretty heavy, I’d say.
Onto the characters.
The first chapter of ‘The Good Hawk’ is told from Agatha’s perspective. We discover that Agatha is proud to be a Hawk, one of the members of her clan responsible for patrolling the sea walls, keeping a weather eye on the horizon for possible threats. The first person narrative is really effective in helping the reader get to know Agatha; we experience what she experiences, and are privy to her thoughts and concerns, fears and hopes. But we’re also hampered by her lack of knowledge, and when she isn’t sure of the situation, we don’t have the information to make an independent judgement on it either. She’s an unreliable narrator and a sympathetic character.
It’s clear from the first chapter that Agatha’s behaviour, thought patterns and beliefs are atypical of her clan, but it was only with a little research that I discovered that Joseph Elliott’s experiences of working with children with learning disabilities informed Agatha’s depiction. With the caveat that I have no similar experience in that area, Agatha’s characterisation has a realism that you can’t always depend on finding. Her chapters are also written more simply than Jaime’s, emphasising the differences in the way they think and communicate as well as their shared convictions and beliefs.
I love that Agatha is one of the two protagonists around which the narrative revolves. She’s not slotted in at the edges but is instead central to the story, and her actions drive the narrative. Further, it’s not the case that she manages heroic or narrative-central things despite having a disability; she is a person with a disability who achieves big picture things. Who saves the day, not without insignificant risk to herself. And in fact, while her ability to communicate with animals proves indispensable in her and Jaime’s efforts to rescue their clan, that ability doesn’t compensate for her disability, which remains an inarguable part of her identity and characterisation. She’s proof that heroes don’t come in just one kind of package.
Jaime is the second of the two protagonists. When we meet him, he’s a dissatisfied Angler that finds himself in an arranged marriage – for the good of the clan. As ‘The Good Hawk’ develops, we also discover that he has what could be defined as anxiety, and he experiences panic attacks that Lileas and Agatha support him through. As is the case with Agatha, Jaime doesn’t manage heroic or narrative-central things despite having a tendency to overthink or despite having anxiety; he achieves those things as a person with anxiety. His early successes don’t magically ‘fix’ his mental health, either, but learning from his experiences enables him to better manage his initial response to difficult situations. As with Agatha, Jaime is a great example of a different kind of hero – who deserves no less respect than your average superpowered teen. He also demonstrates that strength has little to do with the absence of fear.
Finally, it’s important to note that this is just the first book in the series, so while the conclusion brings this chapter of Agatha and Jaime’s lives to an end, ‘The Good Hawk’ still leaves many questions unanswered and most stones unturned. It’s a satisfying read but it’s very clearly the launchpad to the series – which I, for one, am keen to continue reading.
To round off this review, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Good Hawk.’ Great characters, a really interesting premise, and a plot with many more twists and turns than I was expecting kept me interested and the pages turning, and I loved the time and effort expended on creating the kind of heroes that we don’t often see. In my eyes, good representation doesn’t make for a good story, but it sends a very important message, and a more diverse range of heroes to relate to can only be a positive shift.
All my book reviews are originally posted here: My blog
Spoiler
‘The Good Hawk’ begins on the Isle of Skye, where the two protagonists, Agatha and Jaime, live with their clan. During the novel, they travel to Scotia (mainland Scotland), a land that they believe to have been long devastated by plague, and then to Norway, in the desperate hope of ransoming a Norwegian prince for their enslaved clan members.On Goodreads, ‘The Good Hawk‘ is categorised as suitable for children (middle grade) and young adult readers. While interesting and varied, ‘The Good Hawk’ has been written in plain English, with the sentences structured in a manner that aids comprehension and readability. You also won’t find a plethora of description; Elliott’s world-building happens in the moment, alongside the heart-pounding action. When it appears, descriptive imagery is employed efficiently to set the scene, never detracting from the plot. It’s also told in the first person, with the chapters divided up between Agatha and Jaime.
In much the same way as Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’ has an appeal powerful enough to engage with readers of all ages, there’s no good reason for adult readers to disregard ‘The Good Hawk’ as a book only for children or young adult readers. Firstly, there’s no ‘only’ to be found in books that fall into those categories, and secondly, ‘The Good Hawk’ is an exciting, engaging read that should appeal to anyone of any age, provided they’re interested in the genre and the plot.
(Are you impressed that I didn’t fall into a passionate defence of young adult books? I am.)
Moving on.
Some elements of the plot are pretty darn dark, and I say that as a reader with a propensity for reading all kinds of dark things. (My favourites of which are by Stephen King, Lovecraft and Vandermeer.)
At the very start of the novel, Jaime’s clan is attacked on his wedding night. It’s bad timing for the clan, as they’re unprepared to face battle, and due to the occasion, many of them are understandably deep in their cups. Jaime and his new wife, Lileas, escape without injury because they’re not with the clan – an old custom sent them out alone in a boat to spend the night together. (Agatha is there too, but not so much in service of an old custom as because she wanted to be.) Despite their best efforts, they’re too late to give aid to their clan, and instead they see the surviving members pulled onto boats by the attacking force, and the gory image of the heads (sans bodies) of their clan elders displayed triumphantly over the gate.
It’s a similar case when Lileas loses her life. By that point in the narrative, Jaime, Lileas and Agatha had captured a Norwegian prince, with the intention of ransoming him for the surviving members of their clan. But he tricks Agatha into leaving him alone with Lileas, escapes his bonds, and murders her in cold blood – slitting her throat in front of Agatha and Jaime.
Pretty heavy, I’d say.
Onto the characters.
The first chapter of ‘The Good Hawk’ is told from Agatha’s perspective. We discover that Agatha is proud to be a Hawk, one of the members of her clan responsible for patrolling the sea walls, keeping a weather eye on the horizon for possible threats. The first person narrative is really effective in helping the reader get to know Agatha; we experience what she experiences, and are privy to her thoughts and concerns, fears and hopes. But we’re also hampered by her lack of knowledge, and when she isn’t sure of the situation, we don’t have the information to make an independent judgement on it either. She’s an unreliable narrator and a sympathetic character.
It’s clear from the first chapter that Agatha’s behaviour, thought patterns and beliefs are atypical of her clan, but it was only with a little research that I discovered that Joseph Elliott’s experiences of working with children with learning disabilities informed Agatha’s depiction. With the caveat that I have no similar experience in that area, Agatha’s characterisation has a realism that you can’t always depend on finding. Her chapters are also written more simply than Jaime’s, emphasising the differences in the way they think and communicate as well as their shared convictions and beliefs.
I love that Agatha is one of the two protagonists around which the narrative revolves. She’s not slotted in at the edges but is instead central to the story, and her actions drive the narrative. Further, it’s not the case that she manages heroic or narrative-central things despite having a disability; she is a person with a disability who achieves big picture things. Who saves the day, not without insignificant risk to herself. And in fact, while her ability to communicate with animals proves indispensable in her and Jaime’s efforts to rescue their clan, that ability doesn’t compensate for her disability, which remains an inarguable part of her identity and characterisation. She’s proof that heroes don’t come in just one kind of package.
Jaime is the second of the two protagonists. When we meet him, he’s a dissatisfied Angler that finds himself in an arranged marriage – for the good of the clan. As ‘The Good Hawk’ develops, we also discover that he has what could be defined as anxiety, and he experiences panic attacks that Lileas and Agatha support him through. As is the case with Agatha, Jaime doesn’t manage heroic or narrative-central things despite having a tendency to overthink or despite having anxiety; he achieves those things as a person with anxiety. His early successes don’t magically ‘fix’ his mental health, either, but learning from his experiences enables him to better manage his initial response to difficult situations. As with Agatha, Jaime is a great example of a different kind of hero – who deserves no less respect than your average superpowered teen. He also demonstrates that strength has little to do with the absence of fear.
Finally, it’s important to note that this is just the first book in the series, so while the conclusion brings this chapter of Agatha and Jaime’s lives to an end, ‘The Good Hawk’ still leaves many questions unanswered and most stones unturned. It’s a satisfying read but it’s very clearly the launchpad to the series – which I, for one, am keen to continue reading.
To round off this review, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Good Hawk.’ Great characters, a really interesting premise, and a plot with many more twists and turns than I was expecting kept me interested and the pages turning, and I loved the time and effort expended on creating the kind of heroes that we don’t often see. In my eyes, good representation doesn’t make for a good story, but it sends a very important message, and a more diverse range of heroes to relate to can only be a positive shift.
All my book reviews are originally posted here: My blog
thepoemreeder's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
erebus53's review against another edition
4.0
Review of :9781004004317 Audiobook version (unabridged MP3)
Read by Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong
Published: W F Howes - Nudged Children's Audiobooks
I picked up this book not wanting to read too much of the blurb. I saw Scottish fantasy somethingsomething.. It's been a pleasant surprise and has started me on a journey through the novel series.
It is set in an alternate reality fantasy middle-ages, where much of the population of the northern British Isles was killed by a plague. The inhabitants of Skye shun the mainland as it is rumoured to be inhabited by flesh-ripping shadow creatures, and the clans of the Island feud and ally, and face invaders from over the sea.
Agatha is a 15 year old who is just coming of age. She has been assigned to the Hawks - the caste of lookouts who are in charge of manning the sea-wall and its artillery. She is fierce, loyal and sometimes impulsive. She is sometimes treated callously by others because she looks different. (from reading between the lines, and checking interviews with the author to be sure, she was born with Down Syndrome, but this is not the focus of her story). She has a pet vole called Milkwort who she talks to. She has a special gift so if she can learn to calm her anger and work on her patience, she will be invaluable to her clan.
Jaime is a quick-witted lad, around he same age. He wanted to be assigned to the Wasps and be trusted with engineering, making and building clever things, but he has become an Angler, and it is hard for him. He gets panic attacks, but with support from his friends and some grounding techniques, he proves to be one of the bravest of them all... (for who can be brave who has no fear?) Learning to understand his own heart is also something that may take some time.
Our two unlikely heroes spring into action when they survive a calamity that imperils the whole clan.. because if they don't save them, then who will?
The characters in this tale are really cool and I have great fun trying to predict what will happen next. It's not always obvious, but is also easy to follow. I'm a sucker for diversity in fantasy and {wry} for a story all about white people and blood-magic{/wry} this ticks most of my boxes.
During the narrative there is conflict between tradition and progress. The children's clan has firm ideas about what is proper and moral, and what is not. They raise children communally and do not tell those children who their direct parents are. Children born different, are cared for rather than being discarded at birth. Using magic, and non-heteronormative relationships are considered to be immoral. As our heroes find out about how others in different places live, they assess the values that they were raised with.
The narration in the audiobook version is all in Scottish accents.. well.. clean, softened Scottish accents, done by non-Scots. It jars a bit when Fiona Hardingham keeps mispronouncing Hawk as Hork (rather than Hock), because she's affecting her Rs and adding them in places where they don't go.
As I write this I have just finished the second book because these are an easy read/listen and a lot of fun.
Read by Fiona Hardingham, Gary Furlong
Published: W F Howes - Nudged Children's Audiobooks
I picked up this book not wanting to read too much of the blurb. I saw Scottish fantasy somethingsomething.. It's been a pleasant surprise and has started me on a journey through the novel series.
It is set in an alternate reality fantasy middle-ages, where much of the population of the northern British Isles was killed by a plague. The inhabitants of Skye shun the mainland as it is rumoured to be inhabited by flesh-ripping shadow creatures, and the clans of the Island feud and ally, and face invaders from over the sea.
Agatha is a 15 year old who is just coming of age. She has been assigned to the Hawks - the caste of lookouts who are in charge of manning the sea-wall and its artillery. She is fierce, loyal and sometimes impulsive. She is sometimes treated callously by others because she looks different. (from reading between the lines, and checking interviews with the author to be sure, she was born with Down Syndrome, but this is not the focus of her story). She has a pet vole called Milkwort who she talks to. She has a special gift so if she can learn to calm her anger and work on her patience, she will be invaluable to her clan.
Jaime is a quick-witted lad, around he same age. He wanted to be assigned to the Wasps and be trusted with engineering, making and building clever things, but he has become an Angler, and it is hard for him. He gets panic attacks, but with support from his friends and some grounding techniques, he proves to be one of the bravest of them all... (for who can be brave who has no fear?) Learning to understand his own heart is also something that may take some time.
Our two unlikely heroes spring into action when they survive a calamity that imperils the whole clan.. because if they don't save them, then who will?
The characters in this tale are really cool and I have great fun trying to predict what will happen next. It's not always obvious, but is also easy to follow. I'm a sucker for diversity in fantasy and {wry} for a story all about white people and blood-magic{/wry} this ticks most of my boxes.
During the narrative there is conflict between tradition and progress. The children's clan has firm ideas about what is proper and moral, and what is not. They raise children communally and do not tell those children who their direct parents are. Children born different, are cared for rather than being discarded at birth. Using magic, and non-heteronormative relationships are considered to be immoral. As our heroes find out about how others in different places live, they assess the values that they were raised with.
The narration in the audiobook version is all in Scottish accents.. well.. clean, softened Scottish accents, done by non-Scots. It jars a bit when Fiona Hardingham keeps mispronouncing Hawk as Hork (rather than Hock), because she's affecting her Rs and adding them in places where they don't go.
As I write this I have just finished the second book because these are an easy read/listen and a lot of fun.
ronja_2002's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gabriele_queerbookdom's review
4.0
ARC provided by Candlewick Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliot is the compelling start to a trilogy set in a mythic Scotland.
It revolves around two members of the Clann a Tuath, set on the island of Skye. Agatha is a Hawk, a sentinel, considered incapable because of her birth condition, and Jaime is an Angler, an anxious teen who isn’t fond of the sea, chosen by the clan’s elders for a long-unneeded ritual. Unexpectedly, the clan is kidnapped by the barbaric deamhain and Jaime and Agatha set up on a tortuous journey to save them.
I’m really looking forward to knowing how this incredible story will continue. I was fascinated by the pace, which kept me biting my nails, and the nuanced characters the author created. I loved every second of it.
The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliot is the compelling start to a trilogy set in a mythic Scotland.
It revolves around two members of the Clann a Tuath, set on the island of Skye. Agatha is a Hawk, a sentinel, considered incapable because of her birth condition, and Jaime is an Angler, an anxious teen who isn’t fond of the sea, chosen by the clan’s elders for a long-unneeded ritual. Unexpectedly, the clan is kidnapped by the barbaric deamhain and Jaime and Agatha set up on a tortuous journey to save them.
I’m really looking forward to knowing how this incredible story will continue. I was fascinated by the pace, which kept me biting my nails, and the nuanced characters the author created. I loved every second of it.
astehling's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
melcolourful's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
themoonkestrel's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn't anything amazing or that blew me away. I liked Agatha's voice because it made sense for her voice to be exactly as it was. My struggle was that Jaime's voice was TOO similar to Agatha's and he has no reason to be that similar. At times I couldn't tell it was his chapter because it sounded too close to Agatha. Which meant I basically could've done without Jaime since he felt just there for the use of "not being Agatha" but nothing beyond that. And a few of the characters felt like plot points rather than actual people (probably except the bo riders, but you can see that was probably the part most enjoyed to write and read) which meant what happened to them was pretty much a "meh, okay" rather than a "what is going to happen".
hazelalaska's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75 stars
This was an interesting read, and I ended up enjoying it. It wasn't what I expected it would be, but that was actually good.
One thing of note that the synopsis doesn't explicitly say is that Agatha, one of the main characters, has Down Syndrome. Her narration initially threw me off because I didn't know this and she sounds a lot younger than she is, so I was a bit confused. Once I learned this, though, her voice made sense and I came to enjoy her point of view.
I did see people shelving this as middle grade, and while I don't necessarily want to put a label on it, I think it would fit more with YA since the main characters are in their teens and there are pretty gruesome descriptions of murder and bodies. I think some might see this as middle grade since Agatha's voice seems younger.
I did wish there was a bit more worldbuilding in relation to the clans, and the Skye clan specifically. Jamie mentions that they don't do marriage even within their own clan, and I was wondering if they had any formal recognition of romantic relationships and how they handle childcare, since the kids don't live with their parents and don't even know who their parents are. Everyone is given a job, but how do they determine who gets what job? It doesn't seem like they match people's interests, because Jamie had no desire to be an Angler.
Spoilers
I was sad when Lileas died because I wanted to see her become integrated into their clan, despite the rough beginning that they had, but I guess it was realistic for someone to die, plus there's the fact that Jaime is in love with Aileen. I was also a bit sad when Knutr died, because even though he was a jerk the whole time, I was sort of hoping he would survive and be redeemed, at least a little bit.
This was an interesting read, and I ended up enjoying it. It wasn't what I expected it would be, but that was actually good.
One thing of note that the synopsis doesn't explicitly say is that Agatha, one of the main characters, has Down Syndrome. Her narration initially threw me off because I didn't know this and she sounds a lot younger than she is, so I was a bit confused. Once I learned this, though, her voice made sense and I came to enjoy her point of view.
I did see people shelving this as middle grade, and while I don't necessarily want to put a label on it, I think it would fit more with YA since the main characters are in their teens and there are pretty gruesome descriptions of murder and bodies. I think some might see this as middle grade since Agatha's voice seems younger.
I did wish there was a bit more worldbuilding in relation to the clans, and the Skye clan specifically. Jamie mentions that they don't do marriage even within their own clan, and I was wondering if they had any formal recognition of romantic relationships and how they handle childcare, since the kids don't live with their parents and don't even know who their parents are. Everyone is given a job, but how do they determine who gets what job? It doesn't seem like they match people's interests, because Jamie had no desire to be an Angler.
Spoilers
I was sad when Lileas died because I wanted to see her become integrated into their clan, despite the rough beginning that they had, but I guess it was realistic for someone to die, plus there's the fact that Jaime is in love with Aileen. I was also a bit sad when Knutr died, because even though he was a jerk the whole time, I was sort of hoping he would survive and be redeemed, at least a little bit.