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A review by briarrose1021
The Force of Fire by Sayantani DasGupta
5.0
Such a fun story! Pinki is a rakkhosh with fire magic and may very well be the strongest rakkhosh of her generation. Unfortunately, she does not have control over her magic, a problem which often results in the accidental destruction of benches, trees, and other parts of her school. In addition, she is often made fun of as a result of her inability to control and use her magic.
After one such even in which Pinki loses control, she and her three young cousins go for a walk, leaving the school grounds. They end up coming across a human male teaching language to a bunch of small children. Though rakkhosh and humans are enemies, Pinki actually saves them from the larger enemy of the serpents by scaring them away. The serpents are then able to capture Pinki and her 3 cousins, and they only agree to release them after gaining an agreement to find missing moonbeams that the serpents needs to complete a weapon of mass destruction. Reluctant at first, Sesha, the son of the Serpentine Governor, gains her agreement by promising to teach her how to control her magic.
And thus begins an adventure in which nothing goes according to plan.
But it is that failure to go according to plan that makes the story so wonderful. From Pinki's struggle to protect her cousins to her intense desire to be able to control her magic, from her desire to have familial closeness to her beliefs about her mother. From her desire to have people believe in her while holding herself apart from everyone.
I loved seeing the way that Pinki grew throughout the story, and I don't mean her ability to use her magic. There are so many twists and turns in this story that even when the story was coming close to the end, I wasn't sure that it actually would end. It did, though, and I loved the way it did end.
The audiobook, which was narrated by Ulka Simone Mohanty, was absolutely fantastic. Mohanty gave a fantastic performance and I hope that as the author continues writing more stories in this world and with these characters, Mohanty will continue to be the narrator. I also really liked the author's note at the end of the audiobook (I do not know if it is included in the ebook or printed book, but I hope it is) which talks about the background of the mythologies and stories upon which this book is based, as well as the discussion on colonization and how it affected Indian history and the stories told as a result.
I definitely recommend this book for kids and adults. It is good enough for anyone to enjoy.
After one such even in which Pinki loses control, she and her three young cousins go for a walk, leaving the school grounds. They end up coming across a human male teaching language to a bunch of small children. Though rakkhosh and humans are enemies, Pinki actually saves them from the larger enemy of the serpents by scaring them away. The serpents are then able to capture Pinki and her 3 cousins, and they only agree to release them after gaining an agreement to find missing moonbeams that the serpents needs to complete a weapon of mass destruction. Reluctant at first, Sesha, the son of the Serpentine Governor, gains her agreement by promising to teach her how to control her magic.
And thus begins an adventure in which nothing goes according to plan.
But it is that failure to go according to plan that makes the story so wonderful. From Pinki's struggle to protect her cousins to her intense desire to be able to control her magic, from her desire to have familial closeness to her beliefs about her mother. From her desire to have people believe in her while holding herself apart from everyone.
I loved seeing the way that Pinki grew throughout the story, and I don't mean her ability to use her magic. There are so many twists and turns in this story that even when the story was coming close to the end, I wasn't sure that it actually would end. It did, though, and I loved the way it did end.
The audiobook, which was narrated by Ulka Simone Mohanty, was absolutely fantastic. Mohanty gave a fantastic performance and I hope that as the author continues writing more stories in this world and with these characters, Mohanty will continue to be the narrator. I also really liked the author's note at the end of the audiobook (I do not know if it is included in the ebook or printed book, but I hope it is) which talks about the background of the mythologies and stories upon which this book is based, as well as the discussion on colonization and how it affected Indian history and the stories told as a result.
I definitely recommend this book for kids and adults. It is good enough for anyone to enjoy.