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A review by nataliealane
Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
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!)