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inkfire's review
5.0
Marvelous worldbuilding, well-rounded characters, and an intriguing plot. Excellent pacing, amazing character development - honestly, I couldn't ask for more.
fiatlux78's review
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? It's complicated
4.0
mamap's review
3.0
i really am picky about my books! i find myself impatient with writing aimed to the young adult age. i found myself less impatient with this one. a young girl who is born an unlucky 13th in a family of 14 with a twin brother who is the lucky 7th son of a 7th son. in an america filled with magic and magical animals, life did not progress the same as it did in our history books. set soon after the 'civil' war as people are pushing to settle the west.
"Eff" must overcome her own personal demons to learn and use magic as only she can. this author lets you think without getting bored.
"Eff" must overcome her own personal demons to learn and use magic as only she can. this author lets you think without getting bored.
lisawreading's review
4.0
I recently finished reading Thirteenth Child with my son, and while we both enjoyed it, I hesitate to declare this book an unmitigated success.
First, the good: In the world of Thirteenth Child, the American frontier is redefined as a place in which magic is the only thing standing between people and all sorts of deadly beasts. In the country of Columbia, the Great Mammoth River marks the barrier between civilization and the wild, and as settlers venture west, they rely on magicians to provide the protective spells needed to keep out the wild. The world-building here is quite imaginative -- a world in which magic is commonplace, used on a basic level to manage household chores and day-to-day tasks, and on a more complex level, to provide the means of human survival.
Main character Eff is a girl whose powers are just beginning to emerge by the end of this book. Brought up believing herself to harbor some inner evil, thanks to being a thirteenth child, Eff is hesitant and uncomfortable when it comes to using magic, until a gifted teacher introduces her to non-Avrupan (read non-European) approaches to magic. Eff's worldview is expanded, and she starts to tap into non-traditional approaches to magic, realizing that her talents may be positive after all.
The not-quite-as-good: Thirteenth Child is the first book in the Frontier Magic trilogy, and as such, has to cover a lot of ground in terms of exposition and explanation. Likewise, quite a lot of time is covered, as we follow Eff from age five to age eighteen. Because of the length of time covered in a relatively short book, many of the chapters feel more like summaries than actual events -- basically, well, that year, not much happened except Eff's brother went away to school, or, that year, Eff was sick for a while, missed a lot of classes, and ended up having to repeat a grade.
The author is building a world system from scratch, and at times the jargon threatens to overwhelm the plot. We have Avrupan magic, Hijero-Cathayan magic, and Aphrikan magic, as well as Rationalists, the North Plains Territory Homestead Claim and Settlement Office, and circuit magicians.
The climax of this volume involves a plague of grubs that threaten the western settlements, and Eff's role in fighting the bug invasion. The solution to the problem comes across like convoluted mumbo-jumbo, not that it's not exciting to read.
Finally, on the negative side, I'd be remiss in not mentioning the to-do over this book from when it first came out concerning the lack of a Native American population. The only people in the book are the (presumably) white settlers, with a couple of people of color mixed in among the townsfolk and school magicians. There isn't a native culture, at least not one that's mentioned at all in this book. Apparently, there was quite a bit of criticism over this when the book came out. As a work of fantasy fiction, I suppose it's the author's right to create whatever world she sees fit... but I leave it to potential readers to decide whether or not this is a deal-breaker for them.
Bottom line: My son and I enjoyed Thirteenth Child enough to continue with the series. Despite uneven pacing, the story itself is fresh and intriguing -- so that the duller parts are easily outweighed by chapters and sequences that are suspenseful and highly engaging.
First, the good: In the world of Thirteenth Child, the American frontier is redefined as a place in which magic is the only thing standing between people and all sorts of deadly beasts. In the country of Columbia, the Great Mammoth River marks the barrier between civilization and the wild, and as settlers venture west, they rely on magicians to provide the protective spells needed to keep out the wild. The world-building here is quite imaginative -- a world in which magic is commonplace, used on a basic level to manage household chores and day-to-day tasks, and on a more complex level, to provide the means of human survival.
Main character Eff is a girl whose powers are just beginning to emerge by the end of this book. Brought up believing herself to harbor some inner evil, thanks to being a thirteenth child, Eff is hesitant and uncomfortable when it comes to using magic, until a gifted teacher introduces her to non-Avrupan (read non-European) approaches to magic. Eff's worldview is expanded, and she starts to tap into non-traditional approaches to magic, realizing that her talents may be positive after all.
The not-quite-as-good: Thirteenth Child is the first book in the Frontier Magic trilogy, and as such, has to cover a lot of ground in terms of exposition and explanation. Likewise, quite a lot of time is covered, as we follow Eff from age five to age eighteen. Because of the length of time covered in a relatively short book, many of the chapters feel more like summaries than actual events -- basically, well, that year, not much happened except Eff's brother went away to school, or, that year, Eff was sick for a while, missed a lot of classes, and ended up having to repeat a grade.
The author is building a world system from scratch, and at times the jargon threatens to overwhelm the plot. We have Avrupan magic, Hijero-Cathayan magic, and Aphrikan magic, as well as Rationalists, the North Plains Territory Homestead Claim and Settlement Office, and circuit magicians.
The climax of this volume involves a plague of grubs that threaten the western settlements, and Eff's role in fighting the bug invasion. The solution to the problem comes across like convoluted mumbo-jumbo, not that it's not exciting to read.
Finally, on the negative side, I'd be remiss in not mentioning the to-do over this book from when it first came out concerning the lack of a Native American population. The only people in the book are the (presumably) white settlers, with a couple of people of color mixed in among the townsfolk and school magicians. There isn't a native culture, at least not one that's mentioned at all in this book. Apparently, there was quite a bit of criticism over this when the book came out. As a work of fantasy fiction, I suppose it's the author's right to create whatever world she sees fit... but I leave it to potential readers to decide whether or not this is a deal-breaker for them.
Bottom line: My son and I enjoyed Thirteenth Child enough to continue with the series. Despite uneven pacing, the story itself is fresh and intriguing -- so that the duller parts are easily outweighed by chapters and sequences that are suspenseful and highly engaging.
surlymanor's review
3.0
Interesting world building - I've heard it described as Little House on the Prairie meets Harry Potter meets hmmm, Jane Yolen (?) but the story is dragging for me & it's time to move on to the Summer Reading List. Maybe I'll pick it up again at the end of the summer.
cimorene1558's review
4.0
I like these books so much, it's such a terrific idea, magic on the frontier!
misswitch's review
3.0
While I enjoyed the book and found it interesting, it didn't seem to have a central plot or story to really ground it. The unfocused nature of the book left me thinking "And?" as I read the last page. Eight years of someone's life is a lot to cram into 344 pages, yet that is exactly what was done here.
nataliealane's review
3.0
For the first almost-half of the book I was a bit underwhelmed and disappointed because I thought I would be reading something with lots of adventure, Magic, etc., but it was a lot of home/daily life, coming of age style content. I wasn’t planning on eating it as highly, before I decided to re-read the synopsis (it had been a long while since I first did that—-even before I checked the book out from the library). The synopsis confirmed that it was more of a growing-up story rather than one that was action-packed, so after that I began evaluating the content based on what it really was. I found it largely satisfying. Eff was relatable, and the narrative voice/Eff’s voice was clear and consistent—-the writing style Kent well to the impression of someone who grew up on the frontier in the 1800s. The Alternate history aspects were cool, and I had some fun matching book locations and names to their real-life counterparts. I like how Eff is the 13th “unlucky” child, rather than the “star of the show” double-seven child like her twin brother, Lan. It’s a bit of fresh air compared to a lot of YA fantasy where the protagonist is some prophesied/rare/unique person with super-strong magic. Yes, the underdog MC is almost equally as common, but I felt like this aspect of Eff shaped more than just her actions, but also her thought processes and self-perception. I did find the pacing a little off for me; I think some of the events could have occurred a bit earlier on the plot, such as
Additionally, the magic systems weren’t as clearly developed or explained as in other fantasy books I’ve read, nor was it as prominent as I was expecting. However, I’m more ok with the amount of Magic present since it is much more of an alt-history coming of age story with magical elements, rather than a magical focus. I also didn’t pick up on girl-hate/cattiness or a constant focus on beauty/physical appearance (the “plain but beautiful”/“model but doesn’t know it” girl, or constant comparison to/jealousy of more beautiful and usually more popular girls). There also wasn’t a major focus, or even a sub-plot even, on a romantic interest. William and Eff have a solid, platonic relationship going on, so there was more room to explore community and family dynamics, as well as some frontier politics. Other than some of the pacing/placement of events and the vaguer magical systems, the only other thing I would like to be better is for Eff to maybe have a female friend outside of her direct family circle. You do kind of get that with Ms. Ochiba, but not a ton. Overall, it was a satisfying read and a solid start to a series. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel (I have the whole trilogy from the library and am series-sprinting!)
Spoiler
Rennie eloping with Brant and causing a bunch of family dramaAdditionally, the magic systems weren’t as clearly developed or explained as in other fantasy books I’ve read, nor was it as prominent as I was expecting. However, I’m more ok with the amount of Magic present since it is much more of an alt-history coming of age story with magical elements, rather than a magical focus. I also didn’t pick up on girl-hate/cattiness or a constant focus on beauty/physical appearance (the “plain but beautiful”/“model but doesn’t know it” girl, or constant comparison to/jealousy of more beautiful and usually more popular girls). There also wasn’t a major focus, or even a sub-plot even, on a romantic interest. William and Eff have a solid, platonic relationship going on, so there was more room to explore community and family dynamics, as well as some frontier politics. Other than some of the pacing/placement of events and the vaguer magical systems, the only other thing I would like to be better is for Eff to maybe have a female friend outside of her direct family circle. You do kind of get that with Ms. Ochiba, but not a ton. Overall, it was a satisfying read and a solid start to a series. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel (I have the whole trilogy from the library and am series-sprinting!)