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A review by themusingsofmsb
If We Were Giants by Clete Barrett Smith, Dave Matthews
3.0
(Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for a digital ARC of this book!)
This was an interesting tale about a young girl, Kirra, whose family belongs to a tight-knit community hidden away in a dormant volcano, where every member has a specific job, and they all depend upon each other for survival. Only Kirra and her father are allowed to go beyond the community into the outside world, as there are tales about a group of “Takers” who take and destroy existing communities. Curious to find out more and defying the order to never leave on her own, Kirra ventures out on her own - and unknowingly leads the Takers back to her home. They destroy her village and everything she’s ever known. She is luckily rescued by Luwan, a young adventurous boy from another community; however, Kirra’s sadness and guilt leave her withdrawn and quiet. One day when Luwan’s adventures lead him to trouble from the very group who destroyed Kirra’s first community, Kirra is faced with overcoming her inner demons in order to save the people who saved her many years before.
While I thought the book was engaging and had some really important themes, something about the writing style of the first half seemed a bit choppy and it was hard to fully immerse myself in. Part of me wishes this book had been turned into a series, with one or two shorter books in it. I also found myself turned off by the way in which the Takers spoke - the broken English seemed a bit like it was making fun of Indigenous People…? (I'd really like to hear from other readers once the book is out about this point...)
In the end, this was not one of my favorite books ever, but I do think there are a lot of topics in the book that could lead to great discussions with children (such as overcoming loss, embracing different communities, and living peacefully in nature).
This was an interesting tale about a young girl, Kirra, whose family belongs to a tight-knit community hidden away in a dormant volcano, where every member has a specific job, and they all depend upon each other for survival. Only Kirra and her father are allowed to go beyond the community into the outside world, as there are tales about a group of “Takers” who take and destroy existing communities. Curious to find out more and defying the order to never leave on her own, Kirra ventures out on her own - and unknowingly leads the Takers back to her home. They destroy her village and everything she’s ever known. She is luckily rescued by Luwan, a young adventurous boy from another community; however, Kirra’s sadness and guilt leave her withdrawn and quiet. One day when Luwan’s adventures lead him to trouble from the very group who destroyed Kirra’s first community, Kirra is faced with overcoming her inner demons in order to save the people who saved her many years before.
While I thought the book was engaging and had some really important themes, something about the writing style of the first half seemed a bit choppy and it was hard to fully immerse myself in. Part of me wishes this book had been turned into a series, with one or two shorter books in it. I also found myself turned off by the way in which the Takers spoke - the broken English seemed a bit like it was making fun of Indigenous People…? (I'd really like to hear from other readers once the book is out about this point...)
In the end, this was not one of my favorite books ever, but I do think there are a lot of topics in the book that could lead to great discussions with children (such as overcoming loss, embracing different communities, and living peacefully in nature).