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raggedtoothrat 's review for:
Elemental Thief
by Rachel Morgan
I enjoy dystopian stories and I love Rachel Morgan's stories so this one was an obvious win for me.
On the positive side of things, Ridley is a relatable character who is easy to love. She's independent yet vulnerable. She doesn't want to be drawn into the drama and is literally dragged in. There seems to be a fair bit of character diversity, at least judging by the names. We aren't given many physical descriptors but Ridley's closest friends are named Shen Lin (whose family runs a Chinese takeout shop) and Meera Singh so a reader can make assumptions without the author screaming, "Hey look, people of colour!" I do like that the two main characters don't fall into a romantic relationship although their friendship has been set up in such a way that it might evolve later in the series. I particularly enjoyed Ridley's relationship with her father since at first it seems like the typical child looking after their parent but we eventually see how strong and protective her father is when the going gets tough.
On the downside, there were a fair few tropes and some predictable plot points. Rich kid turned poor, scholarship kid who is looked down on by the rich kids, moral thieving (Robin Hood style), long-time friend with a secret crush, "I'm the only one with this power - oh wait, I'm not." However, these are fairly standard for YA. Also, the book ends on a major cliffhanger so it might be worth waiting for the rest of the series to come out if you are impatient. However, the author has written in some clues to make it easy to guess the outcome of the cliffhanger (I think; will have to wait and see!)
I don't recall reading a dystopian novel with magic-wielders before. Now I want to seek more out as it was an interesting angle.
100% would recommend whether you've read Rachel Morgan's Creepy Hollow series or not (but seriously, go read Creepy Hollow). The genre might be different but the quality is the same.
On the positive side of things, Ridley is a relatable character who is easy to love. She's independent yet vulnerable. She doesn't want to be drawn into the drama and is literally dragged in. There seems to be a fair bit of character diversity, at least judging by the names. We aren't given many physical descriptors but Ridley's closest friends are named Shen Lin (whose family runs a Chinese takeout shop) and Meera Singh so a reader can make assumptions without the author screaming, "Hey look, people of colour!" I do like that the two main characters don't fall into a romantic relationship although their friendship has been set up in such a way that it might evolve later in the series. I particularly enjoyed Ridley's relationship with her father since at first it seems like the typical child looking after their parent but we eventually see how strong and protective her father is when the going gets tough.
On the downside, there were a fair few tropes and some predictable plot points. Rich kid turned poor, scholarship kid who is looked down on by the rich kids, moral thieving (Robin Hood style), long-time friend with a secret crush, "I'm the only one with this power - oh wait, I'm not." However, these are fairly standard for YA. Also, the book ends on a major cliffhanger so it might be worth waiting for the rest of the series to come out if you are impatient. However, the author has written in some clues to make it easy to guess the outcome of the cliffhanger (I think; will have to wait and see!)
I don't recall reading a dystopian novel with magic-wielders before. Now I want to seek more out as it was an interesting angle.
100% would recommend whether you've read Rachel Morgan's Creepy Hollow series or not (but seriously, go read Creepy Hollow). The genre might be different but the quality is the same.