Reviews

Fireborn: Twelve and the Frozen Forest by Aisling Fowler

signedr's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful

5.0

bontae's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective relaxing 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? Yes

bookgirlchloe's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Used to be a 3.75 star, but I can't stop thinking about it so it's 4.75 star now!

depressedstrawberry's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

anca_antoci's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I don't read middle-grade literature often, but this one stands out and can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Fireborn is a fast-paced, thrilling fantastical adventure that follows Twelve, our young heroine, who has given up everything to become a hunter. The story comes with a unique magic system and exciting world-building. We get to explore hierarchies and see the characters put their differences aside and work together, which isn't easy.
Twelve stands out from other middle-grade novel heroine and I often resonated with her. She's inspiring for any young reader. She's flawed and brave and a real badass. I think young readers will enjoy her snarky humor and banter. All the characters are charismatic, including the squirel. Widge and Dog were fabulous sidekicks and added loads of humour to the story thus balancing the darker themes.

I loved the plot twists at the end and I recommend Fireborn to all fantasy lovers. Although this is technically middle-grade it reads a lot like a YA fantasy.

The prose is tight and compelling, keeping the reader engaged from the first page.

robertfinlayreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

andy_mortimer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

alongreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Fireborn is the first in a new fantasy series for tweens. Based on the writing here, I hope the series runs for a long time.

Twelve is part of a group of young teens training to be Hunters, protectors of the scattered clans loosely allied together against their savage world. Relationships between the clans are starting to break down, and attacks are becoming far more common, but the trainees are safe inside their unbreachable compound.

Until they aren't.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but my favourite character is not Twelve (although she is awesome) or Five (although he grew on me after a while) or even Six and Seven (both cool in their own ways.) Widge is pretty great too, but it's still not him. No; like a lot of other people, my favourite character is Dog, and he became so after a certain scene in a certain forest with some certain other characters. (Trying so hard not to spoil anyone!)

There are some fabulous, really imaginative sequences here. Aisling isn't relying on the usual cliches of this kind of fiction, and both the action scenes and the quieter, character scenes are fantastic. They work together to build the story and every single scene adds to the larger arc.

I can't wait to see what new adventures there are - going by this one, there are some wonderful adventures in store. This one's going to be great.

starp0tt3r's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.75

lucyrambles's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

4.5/5 stars

Fireborn takes you on Twelve’s daring and dangerous journey to seek justice for her family after they are brutally murdered. However, when her new home is under attack, her reason for revenge shifts, and changes her life and beliefs irrevocably.

Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into reading a middle-grade novel at my age, but it was great. Some of the scenes were more suitable for teens to read as their violence and brutality were more intense.

Twelve’s character, while slightly insufferable at times, was the ideal heroine. She took it upon herself to save Seven when she was captured by evil creatures. Whilst I’d agree, this was partly a stupid decision, I appreciated her tenacity and strength. Even though she lost her family at such a young age, her maturity level would surpass some adults. She had to grow up too quickly and be thrown into a horrible, cruel world without much guidance. The Hunter’s lodge actually teaches her the survival skills she so desperately needs.

Read my full review on lucyrambles.com