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A review by sleepgoblin
Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
4.0
I was unaware of Wrede as an author before owning this book, so I came into it without any comparisons to her other works. Thus, I cannot give you any insight in that regard.
Frontier Magic, as the series seems to be called, is a good indication as to what you'll find here. While the main point of the story, the fact that Eff is an unlucky Thirteenth child and her twin brother is the seventh son of a seventh son, is not an original idea in the world of magical literature, the combination of the rest of elements in the novel make it both unique and interesting.
The setting is easy to imagine if you are familiar with early frontier America. This is helpful, since the book did not come with a map of the world, something I almost expect out of fantasy. It is important to keep in mind that this is not actually set in the US. The history and geography mentioned in the book is just similar enough to give a sense of both reality and familiarity, and to allow a basic understanding of the starting point of the world without too much background writing. This allows what is different and important about Wrede's world to be forefront and yet still be easily understood as a whole.
Since the narrator begins life in the "civilized" east before moving to the frontier, the reader is introduced to what makes this world different as the narrator experiences it herself. You learn about magic as she learns about magic, and you discover what fantastic animals lurk along the frontier as she does. This in particular was one of the elements of the book that I enjoyed, as it allowed the story to progress without feeling like it needed to stop to explain itself.
Generally speaking, the story reads like a first person journal or narration of a young girl as she progresses from childhood to young adult. The language and sentence structure matches this mentality, which is why it feels more like a journal. However, there are times when the narrator makes comments about current events in a way that clearly foreshadows future events. This is the one thing about the book that I truly did not like. While it definitely seemed as if some of the language used was meant to be a reflection of the different way people speak in this world, it often felt like I was just reading the words of a thirteen year old girl. This feeling did not mesh well foreshadowing, as that would make the narrator over 18. The language was the only aspect of the book that made it seem a children's or young adult book, rather than just a fantasy book that happens to be a coming of age story.
Aside from the language, I very much enjoyed reading this, and look forward to seeing how the series develops. This book only just began exploring the "unknown" world, as its main purpose is to set up the series. With half of the continent literally unknown, the potential for this series seems grand. The main character is now a young adult, which may change the tone of future books, something I think will help them. The atmosphere, magic, and character development are well worth further reading.
Frontier Magic, as the series seems to be called, is a good indication as to what you'll find here. While the main point of the story, the fact that Eff is an unlucky Thirteenth child and her twin brother is the seventh son of a seventh son, is not an original idea in the world of magical literature, the combination of the rest of elements in the novel make it both unique and interesting.
The setting is easy to imagine if you are familiar with early frontier America. This is helpful, since the book did not come with a map of the world, something I almost expect out of fantasy. It is important to keep in mind that this is not actually set in the US. The history and geography mentioned in the book is just similar enough to give a sense of both reality and familiarity, and to allow a basic understanding of the starting point of the world without too much background writing. This allows what is different and important about Wrede's world to be forefront and yet still be easily understood as a whole.
Since the narrator begins life in the "civilized" east before moving to the frontier, the reader is introduced to what makes this world different as the narrator experiences it herself. You learn about magic as she learns about magic, and you discover what fantastic animals lurk along the frontier as she does. This in particular was one of the elements of the book that I enjoyed, as it allowed the story to progress without feeling like it needed to stop to explain itself.
Generally speaking, the story reads like a first person journal or narration of a young girl as she progresses from childhood to young adult. The language and sentence structure matches this mentality, which is why it feels more like a journal. However, there are times when the narrator makes comments about current events in a way that clearly foreshadows future events. This is the one thing about the book that I truly did not like. While it definitely seemed as if some of the language used was meant to be a reflection of the different way people speak in this world, it often felt like I was just reading the words of a thirteen year old girl. This feeling did not mesh well foreshadowing, as that would make the narrator over 18. The language was the only aspect of the book that made it seem a children's or young adult book, rather than just a fantasy book that happens to be a coming of age story.
Aside from the language, I very much enjoyed reading this, and look forward to seeing how the series develops. This book only just began exploring the "unknown" world, as its main purpose is to set up the series. With half of the continent literally unknown, the potential for this series seems grand. The main character is now a young adult, which may change the tone of future books, something I think will help them. The atmosphere, magic, and character development are well worth further reading.