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feelingferal's review
3.0
I read this book to the kids at work. They liked it, but it didn't have the same attraction or draw of her other books that I have read. The kids enjoyed it, but weren't clamoring for the sequel.
bbqrplanting's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book but it wasn't a can't-put-down book for me.
I may have given it four stars but this book is set in a (fictional, alternate) North America-the wild west one might say. However, there are no Native Americans which is a little weird and problematic, it is an erasure of Native Americans, which is all too common in our culture. This is a fictional, fantasy book with a fictional, fantasy world (the lack of American Indians is not the only difference between the book world and real history) and I'm not sure how intentional the decision to leave them out was. I chalk it up to a clueless white person not realizing their privilege or seeing how framing a setting in this manner is problematic. There are two more books after this one, so perhaps she remedies the problem as the story progresses. I was able to get past it to enjoy the book, but if you don't think you can do that, you might want to skip this one.
I may have given it four stars but this book is set in a (fictional, alternate) North America-the wild west one might say. However, there are no Native Americans which is a little weird and problematic, it is an erasure of Native Americans, which is all too common in our culture. This is a fictional, fantasy book with a fictional, fantasy world (the lack of American Indians is not the only difference between the book world and real history) and I'm not sure how intentional the decision to leave them out was. I chalk it up to a clueless white person not realizing their privilege or seeing how framing a setting in this manner is problematic. There are two more books after this one, so perhaps she remedies the problem as the story progresses. I was able to get past it to enjoy the book, but if you don't think you can do that, you might want to skip this one.
gothicglasses's review against another edition
4.0
I have been having a lot of trouble getting into books for some reason latley so it has taken me a while to acutally finish this book. That doesn't mean this is a bad book on the contrary it is pretty good, a little slow paced but good.
I liked that this story for the fact that it isn't from the point of view of the most powerful character Lan. We get it from almost the sidekicks perspective. You will almost always see from the person best at whatever the book is about, almost never do we see second best.
Eff is second best and not only that but a lot of her family thinks she is cursed to be evil and her parents should have killed her when she was born. She has the emotions going along with being the "cursed" one in the family. In order to get Eff away from such a mentally damaging setting her Mom and Dad move her and most of her brothers and sisters out to the edge of cilivation in order for her father to get a fairly good job.
Here she and her brother Lan meet William, who she will get with even if I have to write a fanfiction! Darn it! I found him annoying at first, indifferent in the middle of the book and loving who he was by the end. Though to my slight disappointment there was no romance for our young heroine.
So in the end I love the POV, I liked most of the characters and the creatures. It was a little slow but that could have been because I'm just not in a reading kind of mood. *shrug*
I liked that this story for the fact that it isn't from the point of view of the most powerful character Lan. We get it from almost the sidekicks perspective. You will almost always see from the person best at whatever the book is about, almost never do we see second best.
Eff is second best and not only that but a lot of her family thinks she is cursed to be evil and her parents should have killed her when she was born. She has the emotions going along with being the "cursed" one in the family. In order to get Eff away from such a mentally damaging setting her Mom and Dad move her and most of her brothers and sisters out to the edge of cilivation in order for her father to get a fairly good job.
Here she and her brother Lan meet William, who she will get with even if I have to write a fanfiction! Darn it! I found him annoying at first, indifferent in the middle of the book and loving who he was by the end. Though to my slight disappointment there was no romance for our young heroine.
So in the end I love the POV, I liked most of the characters and the creatures. It was a little slow but that could have been because I'm just not in a reading kind of mood. *shrug*
anirastriker642's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
mizwriterlady's review
5.0
Ugh SO GOOD. And I was tickled to see phrases I grew up with that I'm pretty sure most people have never heard of, or can't make heads or tails of. "If I had my druthers" comes to mind.
Fantastic story--great main character, great writing, great world. A package of greatness.
Fantastic story--great main character, great writing, great world. A package of greatness.
ulrikedg's review
3.0
Compelling characters, unfortunate world-building choice. Had Wrede set this book on another planet, it would have easily earned 4+ stars. Sadly, she chose to set it in a North America A/U without including American Indians.
Audiobook narrator Amanda Ronconi was mostly fine. Her voice fit the characters well, but she struggled sometimes with reading on autopilot and not noticing when her inflection didn't match the content.
Audiobook narrator Amanda Ronconi was mostly fine. Her voice fit the characters well, but she struggled sometimes with reading on autopilot and not noticing when her inflection didn't match the content.
scribesprite's review
4.0
I can see why some people might not really get excited about a book like this. The writing style is different from what most authors do now. Usually for a character like Eff there would be a chapter dedicated to back story, then they would jump right into the juicy stuff. I'd say maybe 60% of the book might be considered back story. However, if you think about real life this is how it is. Your life doesn't feel like a back story until this one important event in your life happens. It's got moments throughout that are noteworthy and that is what most of this book felt like. We follow Eff from when she is five years old until she is a young woman. Near the end there it feels a bit more like an adventure. Believe me I like that kind of story with suspense and excitement but this was a good change of pace.
Eff is definitely a unique character. She thinks very practically and you know characters who are practical and you can tell they are sad about it. Eff never questions her nature. Sure she has her fears, she gets angry and frustrated but doesn't question if she is adventurous enough and pretty enough. The biggest criticism she has on herself is that she will bring bad things to her family, which is what her relative told her when she was five years old. I liked the family dynamic. Her parents seem like very wise people and her siblings give the book a new dimension.
One aspect I didn't fully understand was magical part of the story. How does it work exactly? It's not as if I need a how to book but it was hard to keep track of all the different kinds of magic and how they work. Some of them use special equipment and some don't use any at all, even the powerful stuff sometimes.
So all in all it was interesting read and surprisingly I liked Eff. I've been trying to start reading the second book in the series but other books and life is getting in the way.
Eff is definitely a unique character. She thinks very practically and you know characters who are practical and you can tell they are sad about it. Eff never questions her nature. Sure she has her fears, she gets angry and frustrated but doesn't question if she is adventurous enough and pretty enough. The biggest criticism she has on herself is that she will bring bad things to her family, which is what her relative told her when she was five years old. I liked the family dynamic. Her parents seem like very wise people and her siblings give the book a new dimension.
One aspect I didn't fully understand was magical part of the story. How does it work exactly? It's not as if I need a how to book but it was hard to keep track of all the different kinds of magic and how they work. Some of them use special equipment and some don't use any at all, even the powerful stuff sometimes.
So all in all it was interesting read and surprisingly I liked Eff. I've been trying to start reading the second book in the series but other books and life is getting in the way.
kblincoln's review
4.0
In the beginning of the book I was like "oh no, not another special child who discovers their magic."
But as I read on, I discovered Wrede had a built a fascinating world in which to put this child, and had created very compelling characters in her family members to surround the character.
There are other people who've summarized the plot, so I won't here. But let me say that the particular way Eff goes about realizing her own worth, combined with the way Wrede give us information without veering from Eff's understanding of the world was terrific. For example, Eff notices her sister is absent more and more, but even as the reader picks up the clues about a young man paying court to her, Eff never realizes why her sister runs off suddenly to get married until after the baby is born.
I really enjoyed it and will definitely look for the next one.
But as I read on, I discovered Wrede had a built a fascinating world in which to put this child, and had created very compelling characters in her family members to surround the character.
There are other people who've summarized the plot, so I won't here. But let me say that the particular way Eff goes about realizing her own worth, combined with the way Wrede give us information without veering from Eff's understanding of the world was terrific. For example, Eff notices her sister is absent more and more, but even as the reader picks up the clues about a young man paying court to her, Eff never realizes why her sister runs off suddenly to get married until after the baby is born.
I really enjoyed it and will definitely look for the next one.
katmystery's review against another edition
5.0
This is the strangest feeling.
If I told you everything that happened, basically, it might sound like nothing special.
But if you read it, it's an entirely different story:
It is amazing.
Wrede wrote this in such a way that you cared about the characters by the middle of the book like you would care about characters at the end of a long beloved series. It really is a stunning piece of work and a great read.
If I told you everything that happened, basically, it might sound like nothing special.
But if you read it, it's an entirely different story:
It is amazing.
Wrede wrote this in such a way that you cared about the characters by the middle of the book like you would care about characters at the end of a long beloved series. It really is a stunning piece of work and a great read.