Skip to main content

Given To The Sea

Given To The Sea by Mindy McGinnis


Synopsis
Khosa has the dancing sickness that will one day carry her into the sea as a sacrifice, but first she must produce an heir. However, human contact makes her sick. Vincent is the prince of a kingdom Khosa must save, but can he save her instead? And from the other side of the land, an enemy marches on the kingdom.


Review
I received this book in the April FairyLoot box.

I really wanted to like this one because I LOVED McGinnis' book last year, The Female of the Species. But I think her forte is in contemporary and not fantasy.

I just don't even know where to begin... The world was super confusing. I had no idea what was going on half the time with the various peoples on this... Island? Continent? There's this race or species of people whose skin changes color and there's only two of them left. Then there's another people who send their citizens out to sea to die, then a group of people who are all disabled in someway that have banded together, then a kingdom where most of the events take place, whose people fear the sea and send a girl as a sacrifice every generation.

There were lots of different viewpoints and a few storylines moving. There was also a super weird love... tangle? with lots of teen angst. I also don't like the way McGinnis writes men. The male characters all sleep around with no consequences whatsoever, but virginity is a big thing for the girls and I'm so tired of that. Plus creepy sexual harassment from an older male character (who you always hate anyway).

I felt like there were so many themes to be explored that none really got the depth needed.

The premise is so interesting, and there were moments of the book I really felt like it came back to that original true intention, but then it would slip away. I want to know the mystery of the sea and the dancing urge. I may read the sequel if I can get it from the library to find out these answers.

The book had lots of potential, and just didn't quite get there.


Rating
I give this book 1.5 stars.


Details
Genre: YA, Fantasy.
Language: Some.
Sex: Yes, though never explicit. Scenes of sexual harassment.
Violence: Not graphic but it's there.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday Themes: Black Lives Matter

This post is especially for white people. We need to educate ourselves on what it means to be black in the US. Beyond listening to my POC (that's People of Color) friends when they speak about the injustices and prejudices they face, and following more POC on social media to gain a broader perspective, I also read as much as I can. These are six books I think are very helpful to understanding the history and reality of black people in the United States. Fiction 1) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Starr witnesses her unarmed friend get shot by a police officer and decides to speak out. I think this book should be required reading in all schools. 2) Americanah   by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Ifemelu moves to the US from Nigeria and learns for the first time what it means to be "black". 3) The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead In this book, the Underground Railroad is a literal thing that helps Cora escape from slavery in Georgia. But with a slave...
1 comment
Read more

I'm back!

I took a rather long hiatus, didn't I? Between work suddenly becoming very busy (I own my own business), a couple deaths in my family, and the holiday season, I haven't had the bandwidth to do much else. I have  been reading, and now I'm determined to keep up with my reviews again, especially for some eARCs that I still have. Anyway, look forward to some new posts, an updated Instagram, and more books!
1 comment
Read more

Thursday Themes: Books From My Childhood With Strong Female Protagonists

Looking over some of my favorite books that I read over and over from when I was growing up, I realized they all had one thing in common: Strong, independent, kick-ass female protagonists. I know reading these books helped shaped me into who I am today, as I wanted to emulate the characteristics found in these girls. I highly recommend all of these books to everyone, but especially if you have any young girls that you know. 1) Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman If I ever HAD to pick a favorite book (which, let's be real, is really impossible), then I just might say it's this one. I read this book so much that I had to go buy another copy because the first fell apart. The story is about Catherine, nickname Birdy, who is 14 years old, living in England in 1290 AD. Her father is determined to marry her off, but through hilarious shennanigens, she sends each would-be suitor packing. But then the nastiest--and richest--suitor comes along, and it will take everythi...
2 comments
Read more