A review by marneechua
The Riddle by Alison Croggon

5.0

As one reviewer puts it, "Maerad comes into her own in this book". I really enjoyed this book and thought it completely surpasses the first. The main character develops much more depth and you can not only feel her grow, but empathize with her needs, fears and desires. I loved the parts of the story that have to do with the elementals, while they are capricious and have unknowable plans, they are also beautiful and Maerad's choice to stay with her elemental side seemed all the more difficult because she had such a rough upbringing. She is wild and she understands the world of the wild elementals. I love that. I love that she is able to learn to forgive herself and others. This is a different story than a lot of fantasies because most of this book is devoted more to Maerad's inner turmoil than the fight between good and evil and you can't really say that her wild elemental relatives are "evil", although they don't necessarily want to do good either. Loved this book. Loved the final scene.