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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
The world needs more fantasy like Squire. The artwork was fantastic and the story blended so many important themes it is a feat to manage it within the confines of 305 pages. It might feel rushed at the end, but I think the pacing makes sense considering what is going on in the story. I think constantly about history and how what story gets told shapes what people think not only about their home and other people, but also about themselves. Add girls with swords and you have a story worth coming to many times over.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The message of the book is unbelievably important and I stand by it 100%.
I was just expecting a bit more from the way I heard other people talk about it.
I think I must have known at some point it was YA, but it only really clicked in my brain at the end of the book. The ending felt so out of reality for me. And I do believe in the importance of hope and hopeful stories... It's just, the way the world is right now, it feels impossible to believe in such a victory. Even if the book acknowledges it's not the end of the war.
There were so many interesting moments and themes to the story, for instance, the moment Aiza is made Squire and what that represents was such a monumental part of the story for me, but I felt like we didn’t really get to explore that, it just felt a bit rushed all around.
Overall, can’t really blame it for not being the book I wanted it to be. I think it’s an amazing story for younger readers and one that could spark a lot of important conversations.
adventurous
reflective
challenging
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This made quite a few top of the year lists, and I can see why. The character arcs are good, the illustrations are excellent, and it has an important message told through a non-western-centric point-of-view. It is an underdog story about othering and propaganda and history, imperialism. It accomplishes quite a bit in a short time.
It also could have used a bit more time to really make every aspect of it sing, I think. Time and place, or worldbuilding beyond the necessity of the central themes being communicated, aren’t a concern. And so as a result, a lot of things that feel like it should take a while to feel really earned, end up feeling like they’re accomplished immediately. Especially the battle prowess of the protagonist. Then, when things do come to a head, it was difficult to ascertain how large a victory it actually was, because the unit they trained in and under was never slotted into worldbuilding. Basically, the predominate concern was character arcs and themes, and that’s fine. I was just expecting maybe a bit more meat on the bone for a fantasy story as long as this. But it also seems like possibly more is coming, though that’s not clear. There’s room for a sequel but I didn’t see a to be continued or anything either.
It also could have used a bit more time to really make every aspect of it sing, I think. Time and place, or worldbuilding beyond the necessity of the central themes being communicated, aren’t a concern. And so as a result, a lot of things that feel like it should take a while to feel really earned, end up feeling like they’re accomplished immediately. Especially the battle prowess of the protagonist. Then, when things do come to a head, it was difficult to ascertain how large a victory it actually was, because the unit they trained in and under was never slotted into worldbuilding. Basically, the predominate concern was character arcs and themes, and that’s fine. I was just expecting maybe a bit more meat on the bone for a fantasy story as long as this. But it also seems like possibly more is coming, though that’s not clear. There’s room for a sequel but I didn’t see a to be continued or anything either.