Take a photo of a barcode or cover
mostlyshanti 's review for:
Fire
by Mats Strandberg, Sara Bergmark Elfgren
This book is better than the last one (I think). There are new plot elements, danger, magic, and friendship. Unlike The Circle, it left me actually wanting to read the sequel, and made me really care about the characters (it might help that some have been killed off so there was a clearer focus). I liked the fast moving plot (an achievement in this huge huge huge book) and storytelling elements, as well as the character development in this installment.
So what is Fire about? If you've read The Circle, you might have some idea: teenage girls with issues, a town with issues, the impending apocalypse (with issues), magic, and some other things. The members of the circle, the witches prophesied to stop the demons, are confronting a new school year. Members of the Council have turned up in town, and their increasingly difficult demands create the main plot strand of Fire. The girls are also discovering their powers, and trying to understand what's going on in their town. An organisation has started up, and the way it changes behaviour is nothing short of magical. They're getting to know each other better, too, because that may be the only way they can deal with the evil.
Reading Fire invites inevitable comparisons to The Circle, and it made me realise more what I didn't like about the predecessor. Fire has just as much swearing, and a magical system that is very horror movie, and frankly, characters who could be really annoying at times. But Fire has a complex plot, and characters that invite you to become invested. Ultimately, that was what The Circle was missing. I loved it. Fire is a huge book--my edition is over 670 pages--but the plot is rich. It draws on the many elements--character development, doubts, friendship, danger--without ever losing momentum. I read a couple of hundred pages in a single afternoon. If you're uncomfortable with the traditional European idea of witches, I would still give this one a miss, but the transformation from The Circle is very powerful, and makes this one well worth reading.
The other part of Fire that I loved was the character development. The Circle left us with a bunch of lackluster characters whose motivations were not at all clear and were mostly unlikable and bad at making choices. In this installment, it feels like they've grown up (and are still growing). That's a serious achivement on the part of the authors. Minoo (my favourite) is still nerdy and unsure of herself, but she's becoming a leader, and I loved how compassionate she was. Vanessa has FINALLY ditched Wille, and is trying to navigate her relationship with her mother and work out how she fits into the world. Ida is still desperate, but her development is masterful. She slowly becomes self-aware and less cruel. That made her actions in the end of the story even more sad. Linnea is hopeful, all of a sudden, even though she's still more afraid than she wants to be. She manages to spur the others into action multiple times. Anna-Karin is still mistrustful, and bitter, but she grows to be more comfortable in her own skin, especially by having a familiar. The side characters are also interesting- I look forward to seeing more of Viktor and hopefully Adriana later on, as well as the witches families and Gustaf. The relationship between the girls grows in complexity, especially with a piece of magic in the last part of the book which involves the girls getting to know each other's lives really well. That portrayal of friendship is what makes me want to keep reading.
Fire has a riveting plot and characters that will ensure you're invested, which makes the shattering ending all the more devastating. It's not perfect, but it's so much better than the predecessor that I was satisfied.
So what is Fire about? If you've read The Circle, you might have some idea: teenage girls with issues, a town with issues, the impending apocalypse (with issues), magic, and some other things. The members of the circle, the witches prophesied to stop the demons, are confronting a new school year. Members of the Council have turned up in town, and their increasingly difficult demands create the main plot strand of Fire. The girls are also discovering their powers, and trying to understand what's going on in their town. An organisation has started up, and the way it changes behaviour is nothing short of magical. They're getting to know each other better, too, because that may be the only way they can deal with the evil.
Reading Fire invites inevitable comparisons to The Circle, and it made me realise more what I didn't like about the predecessor. Fire has just as much swearing, and a magical system that is very horror movie, and frankly, characters who could be really annoying at times. But Fire has a complex plot, and characters that invite you to become invested. Ultimately, that was what The Circle was missing. I loved it. Fire is a huge book--my edition is over 670 pages--but the plot is rich. It draws on the many elements--character development, doubts, friendship, danger--without ever losing momentum. I read a couple of hundred pages in a single afternoon. If you're uncomfortable with the traditional European idea of witches, I would still give this one a miss, but the transformation from The Circle is very powerful, and makes this one well worth reading.
The other part of Fire that I loved was the character development. The Circle left us with a bunch of lackluster characters whose motivations were not at all clear and were mostly unlikable and bad at making choices. In this installment, it feels like they've grown up (and are still growing). That's a serious achivement on the part of the authors. Minoo (my favourite) is still nerdy and unsure of herself, but she's becoming a leader, and I loved how compassionate she was. Vanessa has FINALLY ditched Wille, and is trying to navigate her relationship with her mother and work out how she fits into the world. Ida is still desperate, but her development is masterful. She slowly becomes self-aware and less cruel. That made her actions in the end of the story even more sad. Linnea is hopeful, all of a sudden, even though she's still more afraid than she wants to be. She manages to spur the others into action multiple times. Anna-Karin is still mistrustful, and bitter, but she grows to be more comfortable in her own skin, especially by having a familiar. The side characters are also interesting- I look forward to seeing more of Viktor and hopefully Adriana later on, as well as the witches families and Gustaf. The relationship between the girls grows in complexity, especially with a piece of magic in the last part of the book which involves the girls getting to know each other's lives really well. That portrayal of friendship is what makes me want to keep reading.
Fire has a riveting plot and characters that will ensure you're invested, which makes the shattering ending all the more devastating. It's not perfect, but it's so much better than the predecessor that I was satisfied.