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sache8 and laura_josephsen WROTE A BOOK!!!!
Technically, I read this book for the first time in 2008, when Faith asked me to and I met Laura and volunteered to drive to Ohio and draw them a map if they didn't have one (they did), but since I can actually HOLD IT IN MY HANDS now, I'm counting it as Book #1 of 2011.
action, adventure, inspirational, girls with swords, boys with swords, handmaidens, pixie fairies, Epic Destiny, cute animals and so on.
I really love this book, you guys. I'd forgotten some of my favourite smaller bits (like the part about it being lucky to find a wind-torn banner from Montressa), and I was pleased to discover that my favourite scene is still the same one (the one where Xari jumps out of the Eyries).
Now I need to talk about Anathriel. Because she is awesome. It's funny, because she's totally obnoxious at the beginning, and I kind of love her anyway. Because she's AWESOME. She gets them out of Montressa, she insists on being a skirty, she heals people she doesn't necessarily like, she USES HER BRAIN, and she gives up the one thing she's always wanted in order to give everyone else what they want. On, like, NINE DIFFERENT LEVELS.
I really, really don't like Zeth. I am pretty sure that my feelings about him are directly the result of my feelings for Anathriel, because he basically got on my "bad" list in his very first scene by being needlessly mean to her. I'm sure I'll warm up to him eventually, but mostly I spend Book One skimming his scenes. It's not a writer thing (she hastens to add, since she really does love the character just not the character), but for some reason...yeah.
XARI IS THE BEST. Her faith, her swords, her determination, her always saying the right thing, and then EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT HER. And that's just my review of her character in Book 1, peeps. I am keeping you all spoiler free. :)
Immen and I also got off to a bad start, because of how he didn't like Anathriel, but he made it up to me by falling in love with my favourite character, who is probably a better match for him anyway. I love how he approaches his talks with Xari, and the way we see his faith begin. He has, I think, one of the great tragedies in the book, because he loves Zephyr a lot, and he'll never get to hear her talk.
Ashe cracks me up, Jesper is possibly my favourite "best friend" of all time, Heron just makes me SO SAD, and Flute! Oh, FLUTTERMOUSE YOU ARE ADORABLE, NEVER CHANGE! She is just so earnest, and it would be silly and patronizing if it wasn't so HONEST. The scene where she defends the Master to the shvri just makes me tear up every time, and the part where she's Zeth's Guardian will probably go a long way towards making me like him.
I think my favourite part of Awakenings is that the Master calls people who don't believe in Him (yet). Anathriel has the apathy thing going on, and Zeth has Deep Personal Scarring (yet another reason I'm probably slow to warm up to him...), but that doesn't stop Him from reaching out to them, and I kind of love it. The best example (uh, besides the part where Anathriel actually says the words out loud), is when Anathriel prays (sarcastically) for guidance, and then Xari appears out of nowhere and tells her exactly what she needs to hear. It's subtle and pretty, and just AWESOME. I love that it's always "Xari's Master" (both in internal monologue and out loud), and I can't wait to watch it shift.
In closing, the part on the back where it talks about "dangerous liaisons" will never stop being funny, and I am giving it a 9 out of 10, because I know (some of) what's coming, and I'll be needing that 10 later. ;)
(If you would like, you can purchase Awakenings on Amazon, here.)
sache8 and laura_josephsen WROTE A BOOK!!!!Technically, I read this book for the first time in 2008, when Faith asked me to and I met Laura and volunteered to drive to Ohio and draw them a map if they didn't have one (they did), but since I can actually HOLD IT IN MY HANDS now, I'm counting it as Book #1 of 2011.
action, adventure, inspirational, girls with swords, boys with swords, handmaidens, pixie fairies, Epic Destiny, cute animals and so on.
I really love this book, you guys. I'd forgotten some of my favourite smaller bits (like the part about it being lucky to find a wind-torn banner from Montressa), and I was pleased to discover that my favourite scene is still the same one (the one where Xari jumps out of the Eyries).
Now I need to talk about Anathriel. Because she is awesome. It's funny, because she's totally obnoxious at the beginning, and I kind of love her anyway. Because she's AWESOME. She gets them out of Montressa, she insists on being a skirty, she heals people she doesn't necessarily like, she USES HER BRAIN, and she gives up the one thing she's always wanted in order to give everyone else what they want. On, like, NINE DIFFERENT LEVELS.
I really, really don't like Zeth. I am pretty sure that my feelings about him are directly the result of my feelings for Anathriel, because he basically got on my "bad" list in his very first scene by being needlessly mean to her. I'm sure I'll warm up to him eventually, but mostly I spend Book One skimming his scenes. It's not a writer thing (she hastens to add, since she really does love the character just not the character), but for some reason...yeah.
XARI IS THE BEST. Her faith, her swords, her determination, her always saying the right thing, and then EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT HER. And that's just my review of her character in Book 1, peeps. I am keeping you all spoiler free. :)
Immen and I also got off to a bad start, because of how he didn't like Anathriel, but he made it up to me by falling in love with my favourite character, who is probably a better match for him anyway. I love how he approaches his talks with Xari, and the way we see his faith begin. He has, I think, one of the great tragedies in the book, because he loves Zephyr a lot, and he'll never get to hear her talk.
Ashe cracks me up, Jesper is possibly my favourite "best friend" of all time, Heron just makes me SO SAD, and Flute! Oh, FLUTTERMOUSE YOU ARE ADORABLE, NEVER CHANGE! She is just so earnest, and it would be silly and patronizing if it wasn't so HONEST. The scene where she defends the Master to the shvri just makes me tear up every time, and the part where she's Zeth's Guardian will probably go a long way towards making me like him.
I think my favourite part of Awakenings is that the Master calls people who don't believe in Him (yet). Anathriel has the apathy thing going on, and Zeth has Deep Personal Scarring (yet another reason I'm probably slow to warm up to him...), but that doesn't stop Him from reaching out to them, and I kind of love it. The best example (uh, besides the part where Anathriel actually says the words out loud), is when Anathriel prays (sarcastically) for guidance, and then Xari appears out of nowhere and tells her exactly what she needs to hear. It's subtle and pretty, and just AWESOME. I love that it's always "Xari's Master" (both in internal monologue and out loud), and I can't wait to watch it shift.
In closing, the part on the back where it talks about "dangerous liaisons" will never stop being funny, and I am giving it a 9 out of 10, because I know (some of) what's coming, and I'll be needing that 10 later. ;)
(If you would like, you can purchase Awakenings on Amazon, here.)
