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jackiijackii 's review for:
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
by Rae Carson
I love the idea of a fantasy YA novel with an overweight female protagonist. There's so much potential for important lessons about loving one's body indiscriminately and finding self-worth without losing weight to do it. Strong, heavy ladies are a scarce (if not invisible) character, which--much like in the fashion industry--for some reason tries to convince us that we're the exception and not the standard. A YA novel with a great story that embraces the diversity of human size is a welcome addition to the genre.
Unfortunately, this is not that book. It begins that way, though. Elisa carries the Godstone and is this generation's "chosen". Every 100 years a child is chosen on its naming day and destined for greatness, marked by a blue gem that's embedded in their navel like a treasure troll. Elisa is fat. Her sister is thin and beautiful, and she's constantly comparing herself to her. People whisper about her. When she travels to another kingdom, the maid deliberately brings her clothes that are far too small for Elisa out of spite. Every one of Elisa's thoughts is something that us fat ladies think. She hates being fat, and feels conflicted about being chosen by God but somehow being fat, as though it's a punishment or something, and mutually exclusive.
This is all great, because anyone raised in this media-saturated world knows that we're supposed to feel ashamed if our bodies aren't exactly how we're told they should be. It's easy to say "just love yourself" if you aren't warring with a canyon of difference between what you look like and what you're "supposed" to look like. If Elisa can achieve these great things for which she's destined, and do it without having to lose weight, it'll be a huge win and first example in a book I've ever read where the whole "just love yourself" and "who you are doesn't depend on your weight" will actually be put into practice!
Uh. Nope. She loses weight. Now, there are several ways Elisa could have lost weight that would empower readers struggling with the same issue. But, instead of being mindful about eating and exercising, instead of committing to a drastically different lifestyle, instead of trying to break her habits, instead of finding impossible willpower every moment of every day, Elisa is kidnapped and starved. Two things wrong with this: First, the relatable Elisa from the first half of the book is now inaccessible, since readers can't (or shouldn't) lose weight the same way as this character they previously identified with. Second, for those same readers, kidnapping and starvation has the potential to be a remarkable diet. This is super dangerous. In case you did read this book and cheered at her weight loss from the desert trek, there's something you need to know: KIDNAPPING AND STARVATION IS TRAGEDY, NOT TRANSFORMATION.
I say this not because I think the people reading this are stupid. It isn't about being able to intelligently say "Oh my, she lost weight but that is SO not healthy, I should definitely not try that!". It's about all of us being impressionable. Even as an adult, it makes an impression on me.
The focus on her being overweight continues for, I want to say, half the book? After she arrives at her kidnapper's destination, it's only mentioned...fewer than five times between the middle and end of the book, since she lost the weight. Whereas it was mentioned (it felt like) five times per page before she lost the weight. As though the focus of her struggle in the first half actually has nothing to do with the story being told...but if that's the case, why spend so much time on it in the beginning? As I read, I kept waiting for it to come up again, a reason why she was fat, but there was nothing.
I know I make it sound like this is all the book is about, and possibly for the first half of the book this is what 90% of the book is about. While this focus on Elisa's weight/weight loss is my main problem with the story, a secondary fear arose as I read: I feared that I had been tricked into reading Chri-Fi.
As I've said in previous comments, I have no problem with main characters being devout, or being part of a very religious culture. I don't even have that much of a problem with being "chosen", although that always opens comparison to the Christ story. What I dislike about religious fiction is the heavy-handed (pun intended) use of deus ex machina: if God is responsible for everything, what's the story? Why bother rooting for the characters who can't make decisions themselves? How can I invest in a clever character if all she has to do to stop the army is pray? I can accept up to one instance of deus ex machina per story, and even then, it can't be for any major plot points. So this story goes on, with Elisa praying, and you know what? No deus ex machina. Elisa is smart and observant, and she figures out what to do on her own. Her Godstone warns her of danger, but that's a small device that's used in other stories by other means. But while I eventually learned I had nothing to worry about, that it's possibly just YA fantasy with a devout, monotheistic main character, I still spent too much time worrying if her faith was going to be a crutch for lazy storytelling. I'm very glad it wasn't, because that means that my only problem is with the depiction of her weight issues.
If you'll let me forget that she was ever fat, for a moment, the rest of the story is great. It's clever and engaging and imaginative and unique. I loved characters and hated others. The animagi were terrifying. And Elisa finds purpose by becoming the leader of the Malficio. The ending was rushed, after the battle with the five animagi, but I'm assuming that's because there's more to the story to be explored in the rest of the series.
So the crux of my review is this: either her fatness mattered greatly or not at all. If it mattered greatly, it shouldn't have basically disappeared from conversation and description halfway through the book when she lost weight, and there should have been some indication as to HOW it mattered. If it mattered not at all, why bother focusing on it so intensely for so long?
Perhaps the answers are in the next books in the series, but I don't see myself continuing.
2.5 stars. Rounded down to 2 because I really, really wanted to be able to root for a young woman who didn't have to lose weight to gain confidence or fulfill her destiny.
Unfortunately, this is not that book. It begins that way, though. Elisa carries the Godstone and is this generation's "chosen". Every 100 years a child is chosen on its naming day and destined for greatness, marked by a blue gem that's embedded in their navel like a treasure troll. Elisa is fat. Her sister is thin and beautiful, and she's constantly comparing herself to her. People whisper about her. When she travels to another kingdom, the maid deliberately brings her clothes that are far too small for Elisa out of spite. Every one of Elisa's thoughts is something that us fat ladies think. She hates being fat, and feels conflicted about being chosen by God but somehow being fat, as though it's a punishment or something, and mutually exclusive.
This is all great, because anyone raised in this media-saturated world knows that we're supposed to feel ashamed if our bodies aren't exactly how we're told they should be. It's easy to say "just love yourself" if you aren't warring with a canyon of difference between what you look like and what you're "supposed" to look like. If Elisa can achieve these great things for which she's destined, and do it without having to lose weight, it'll be a huge win and first example in a book I've ever read where the whole "just love yourself" and "who you are doesn't depend on your weight" will actually be put into practice!
Uh. Nope. She loses weight. Now, there are several ways Elisa could have lost weight that would empower readers struggling with the same issue. But, instead of being mindful about eating and exercising, instead of committing to a drastically different lifestyle, instead of trying to break her habits, instead of finding impossible willpower every moment of every day, Elisa is kidnapped and starved. Two things wrong with this: First, the relatable Elisa from the first half of the book is now inaccessible, since readers can't (or shouldn't) lose weight the same way as this character they previously identified with. Second, for those same readers, kidnapping and starvation has the potential to be a remarkable diet. This is super dangerous. In case you did read this book and cheered at her weight loss from the desert trek, there's something you need to know: KIDNAPPING AND STARVATION IS TRAGEDY, NOT TRANSFORMATION.
I say this not because I think the people reading this are stupid. It isn't about being able to intelligently say "Oh my, she lost weight but that is SO not healthy, I should definitely not try that!". It's about all of us being impressionable. Even as an adult, it makes an impression on me.
The focus on her being overweight continues for, I want to say, half the book? After she arrives at her kidnapper's destination, it's only mentioned...fewer than five times between the middle and end of the book, since she lost the weight. Whereas it was mentioned (it felt like) five times per page before she lost the weight. As though the focus of her struggle in the first half actually has nothing to do with the story being told...but if that's the case, why spend so much time on it in the beginning? As I read, I kept waiting for it to come up again, a reason why she was fat, but there was nothing.
I know I make it sound like this is all the book is about, and possibly for the first half of the book this is what 90% of the book is about. While this focus on Elisa's weight/weight loss is my main problem with the story, a secondary fear arose as I read: I feared that I had been tricked into reading Chri-Fi.
As I've said in previous comments, I have no problem with main characters being devout, or being part of a very religious culture. I don't even have that much of a problem with being "chosen", although that always opens comparison to the Christ story. What I dislike about religious fiction is the heavy-handed (pun intended) use of deus ex machina: if God is responsible for everything, what's the story? Why bother rooting for the characters who can't make decisions themselves? How can I invest in a clever character if all she has to do to stop the army is pray? I can accept up to one instance of deus ex machina per story, and even then, it can't be for any major plot points. So this story goes on, with Elisa praying, and you know what? No deus ex machina. Elisa is smart and observant, and she figures out what to do on her own. Her Godstone warns her of danger, but that's a small device that's used in other stories by other means. But while I eventually learned I had nothing to worry about, that it's possibly just YA fantasy with a devout, monotheistic main character, I still spent too much time worrying if her faith was going to be a crutch for lazy storytelling. I'm very glad it wasn't, because that means that my only problem is with the depiction of her weight issues.
If you'll let me forget that she was ever fat, for a moment, the rest of the story is great. It's clever and engaging and imaginative and unique. I loved characters and hated others. The animagi were terrifying. And Elisa finds purpose by becoming the leader of the Malficio. The ending was rushed, after the battle with the five animagi, but I'm assuming that's because there's more to the story to be explored in the rest of the series.
So the crux of my review is this: either her fatness mattered greatly or not at all. If it mattered greatly, it shouldn't have basically disappeared from conversation and description halfway through the book when she lost weight, and there should have been some indication as to HOW it mattered. If it mattered not at all, why bother focusing on it so intensely for so long?
Perhaps the answers are in the next books in the series, but I don't see myself continuing.
2.5 stars. Rounded down to 2 because I really, really wanted to be able to root for a young woman who didn't have to lose weight to gain confidence or fulfill her destiny.