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gloriouspanic 's review for:
Seeker
by Arwen Elys Dayton
Disclosure: I received this free from NetGalley
Story Summary: The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend. But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it's too late to walk away.
Characters: I really liked the depth of each character, especially Shinobu who I really didn't expect to like all that much. Through the story I felt he had an amazing amount of growing, becoming himself. I think the only slightly odd point with the characters is that it reminded me of The Hunger Games but I don't see that as a bad thing, intended or not.
Writing: The whole book is written in a style where you switch perspectives between the different characters and I loved this. I really appreciated being able to see things from specific points of view but also noticed who we were able to do this with and who we weren't. Having read the book now I'd be incredibly curious to get a prequel that would perhaps be in some of the perspectives we didn't get this time.
Favorite Moments: There's a scene when Shinobu reaches a turning point in what he's choosing to be and what he's choosing to not become. I love how after he's had this epiphany it's like his entire way of presenting himself just changes and it's noticeable for everyone - especially for Quin.
Overall: I liked the book, and I liked the story line. Perhaps because I wasn't needing clarification of absolutely every single detail (i.e. I'm still not able to define what exactly a seeker.. is). I think a lot of these details are vague because the characters themselves don't know and we are reading in their perspective (but that could also be my own interpretation, no clue). As for some of the other complaints I've seen - like how the author sounds out some of the various words, words many people who speak english already know. Well, I never felt like she was teaching 'me' anything. I felt it was perfectly understandable that the children might not know how to pronounce the words. Even if she was doing it for her readers.. I didn't care that much, it's something I didn't take much notice of. As for John knowing in a way what was going to happen and not warning her, I think this is something that if you stop reading you won't understand. The fact is John didn't tell her for reasons that really fit his character, and in the end it's just another example of the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants. All of that said, I didn't find quite a bit of the first half really slow, confusing, and even hard to get into. When I look at it as a whole though I appreciated being able to be literally in the confusing mess with the characters. I am looking forward to the next book and will probably keep an eye out.
Story Summary: The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend. But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it's too late to walk away.
Characters: I really liked the depth of each character, especially Shinobu who I really didn't expect to like all that much. Through the story I felt he had an amazing amount of growing, becoming himself. I think the only slightly odd point with the characters is that it reminded me of The Hunger Games but I don't see that as a bad thing, intended or not.
Writing: The whole book is written in a style where you switch perspectives between the different characters and I loved this. I really appreciated being able to see things from specific points of view but also noticed who we were able to do this with and who we weren't. Having read the book now I'd be incredibly curious to get a prequel that would perhaps be in some of the perspectives we didn't get this time.
Favorite Moments: There's a scene when Shinobu reaches a turning point in what he's choosing to be and what he's choosing to not become. I love how after he's had this epiphany it's like his entire way of presenting himself just changes and it's noticeable for everyone - especially for Quin.
Overall: I liked the book, and I liked the story line. Perhaps because I wasn't needing clarification of absolutely every single detail (i.e. I'm still not able to define what exactly a seeker.. is). I think a lot of these details are vague because the characters themselves don't know and we are reading in their perspective (but that could also be my own interpretation, no clue). As for some of the other complaints I've seen - like how the author sounds out some of the various words, words many people who speak english already know. Well, I never felt like she was teaching 'me' anything. I felt it was perfectly understandable that the children might not know how to pronounce the words. Even if she was doing it for her readers.. I didn't care that much, it's something I didn't take much notice of. As for John knowing in a way what was going to happen and not warning her, I think this is something that if you stop reading you won't understand. The fact is John didn't tell her for reasons that really fit his character, and in the end it's just another example of the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants. All of that said, I didn't find quite a bit of the first half really slow, confusing, and even hard to get into. When I look at it as a whole though I appreciated being able to be literally in the confusing mess with the characters. I am looking forward to the next book and will probably keep an eye out.