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A review by smlplatz
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I LOVED this series.
As a half-Mexican (half Caucasian) girl, here are my reasons why I think you should read this series. (Major spoiler free)
- It is high fantasy and the world, culture, languages, people are *not* based predominately on some white European nation during the Middle Ages. Here we have a fantasy series with a firm Latin American foundation, and a few other cultures sprinkled in to create a large and diverse universe. VERY cool.
- The series opens with a narrator/protagonist who is known for her knowledge and girth, but not necessarily her beauty. And she struggles with this as any teenage girl does. HOWEVER, any physical changes that occur over the course of the novels are not a result of Elisa actively trying to be more attractive to men--they are a result of living life and being a total bad ass...and even then she is still described as being "chubby," but also lots of other really positive adjectives that having nothing to do with the shape of her body. There is a LOT more I could say about this subject, but you should just read the books instead.
- It is a really dynamic cast of characters. It's a first person narrative, with a pretty significant ensemble cast that ebbs and flows with the story. The characters are almost exclusively POC (and I don't think food is used to describe them even once...but if so, it's extremely infrequent) and none of them are stereotypes. And this cast is OBVIOUSLY POC. The author makes it VERY clear. It was pretty cool to read a series with that kind of representation. Also, complex and realistic relationships filled with humor and pain and loyalty and every other feeling under the sun.
- It is a romance series that has NO--I REPEAT: NO--love triangles. I nearly cried out of sheer joy. No instalove from our protag! Also, any romancing that does happen ADDS to the story and what is happening to the characters...*cough* Also, nothing inappropriately erotic for the target demographic.
- Magic! Magic with rules and a history!
Basically: read it because it's really a great story. If there are any flaws, all of the wonderful things above have made me completely blind to them and I don't even care.
As a half-Mexican (half Caucasian) girl, here are my reasons why I think you should read this series. (Major spoiler free)
- It is high fantasy and the world, culture, languages, people are *not* based predominately on some white European nation during the Middle Ages. Here we have a fantasy series with a firm Latin American foundation, and a few other cultures sprinkled in to create a large and diverse universe. VERY cool.
- The series opens with a narrator/protagonist who is known for her knowledge and girth, but not necessarily her beauty. And she struggles with this as any teenage girl does. HOWEVER, any physical changes that occur over the course of the novels are not a result of Elisa actively trying to be more attractive to men--they are a result of living life and being a total bad ass...and even then she is still described as being "chubby," but also lots of other really positive adjectives that having nothing to do with the shape of her body. There is a LOT more I could say about this subject, but you should just read the books instead.
- It is a really dynamic cast of characters. It's a first person narrative, with a pretty significant ensemble cast that ebbs and flows with the story. The characters are almost exclusively POC (and I don't think food is used to describe them even once...but if so, it's extremely infrequent) and none of them are stereotypes. And this cast is OBVIOUSLY POC. The author makes it VERY clear. It was pretty cool to read a series with that kind of representation. Also, complex and realistic relationships filled with humor and pain and loyalty and every other feeling under the sun.
- It is a romance series that has NO--I REPEAT: NO--love triangles. I nearly cried out of sheer joy. No instalove from our protag! Also, any romancing that does happen ADDS to the story and what is happening to the characters...*cough* Also, nothing inappropriately erotic for the target demographic.
- Magic! Magic with rules and a history!
Basically: read it because it's really a great story. If there are any flaws, all of the wonderful things above have made me completely blind to them and I don't even care.