The Reader by Traci Chee
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
"Sefia lives her life on the run. After her father is viciously murdered, she flees to the forest with her aunt Nin, the only person left she can trust. . . . But when Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is suddenly on her own, with no way to know who’s taken Nin or where she is. Her only clue is a strange rectangular object that once belonged to her father left behind, something she comes to realize is a book."
Review
The main reason I picked up this book was that it got a LOT of hype. I thought it was a good book, but I'd say more for younger YA. I think if I were 12-14, I would have REALLY loved this book. The premise is interesting: In a world where reading doesn't exist, Sefia has a rare book.
However, I found at times the story was a bit too meta... stories within stories within stories, and how reading is literally magic. The pacing was quite slow. I also found the feel or tone of the story jumped around. First, it was this sort of vengeance quest, then there were pirates, then assassins and secret societies and fight clubs... I just felt like everything went all over. By last few chapters it had settled on a direction for the plot, just in time for it to end (there's going to be a trilogy).
The setting looked unique and diverse (the main character being based off Asian looks and culture), but I also felt like the places were just names on paper. I didn't really get a sense of how they were different.
The writing got progressively better. In the beginning it was more of an omnicient narrator, telling me the story, but by the end it read more like an actual YA novel where I was seeing things through the characters' eyes.
I found the main character, Safi, to be okay. She was very sweet and has some character growth, but also felt a little flat. I didn't really have a connection to her. She also didn't really seem like she had lived in the wilderness for the last six years. I felt like there could have been more depth to her, especially due to the amount of trauma she faced, but as I said, the whole feel of the novel was a little bit younger than what I usually read.
I enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Archer. I felt he had the best character arc of the book. I also liked the pirate captain and his crew. I think I actually preferred their story. There were lots of plot threads left dangling and to be explored more in-depth in the future books.
Overall it was a good, fun, light adventure, especially for a young woman around middle-school age.
Rating
I give this book 3.5 stars.
Details
Genre: YA, fantasy.
Language: None.
Sex: None (some cute kissing).
Violence: Some, but never graphic.
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
"Sefia lives her life on the run. After her father is viciously murdered, she flees to the forest with her aunt Nin, the only person left she can trust. . . . But when Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is suddenly on her own, with no way to know who’s taken Nin or where she is. Her only clue is a strange rectangular object that once belonged to her father left behind, something she comes to realize is a book."
Review
The main reason I picked up this book was that it got a LOT of hype. I thought it was a good book, but I'd say more for younger YA. I think if I were 12-14, I would have REALLY loved this book. The premise is interesting: In a world where reading doesn't exist, Sefia has a rare book.
However, I found at times the story was a bit too meta... stories within stories within stories, and how reading is literally magic. The pacing was quite slow. I also found the feel or tone of the story jumped around. First, it was this sort of vengeance quest, then there were pirates, then assassins and secret societies and fight clubs... I just felt like everything went all over. By last few chapters it had settled on a direction for the plot, just in time for it to end (there's going to be a trilogy).
The setting looked unique and diverse (the main character being based off Asian looks and culture), but I also felt like the places were just names on paper. I didn't really get a sense of how they were different.
The writing got progressively better. In the beginning it was more of an omnicient narrator, telling me the story, but by the end it read more like an actual YA novel where I was seeing things through the characters' eyes.
I found the main character, Safi, to be okay. She was very sweet and has some character growth, but also felt a little flat. I didn't really have a connection to her. She also didn't really seem like she had lived in the wilderness for the last six years. I felt like there could have been more depth to her, especially due to the amount of trauma she faced, but as I said, the whole feel of the novel was a little bit younger than what I usually read.
I enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Archer. I felt he had the best character arc of the book. I also liked the pirate captain and his crew. I think I actually preferred their story. There were lots of plot threads left dangling and to be explored more in-depth in the future books.
Overall it was a good, fun, light adventure, especially for a young woman around middle-school age.
Rating
I give this book 3.5 stars.
Details
Genre: YA, fantasy.
Language: None.
Sex: None (some cute kissing).
Violence: Some, but never graphic.
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