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grav_itygirls who rock, girls who learn to rock, epic destiny, friends in strange places, religion and faith, etc.
SPOILERS BELOW.
I have to say, this book makes the best use of one of my least favourite plot devices of all time. If you've ever talked about Harry Potter with me, you'll probably remember that "Order of the Phoenix" is my least favourite of the set because it manages to combine all THREE of my least favourite plot devices. I do understand why Dumbledore didn't tell Harry all the things that would have made the book end differently, but sometimes it still bugs me.
What happened in GoFaT was a variation on that. Elisa is kept in the dark about her prophesied future by everyone in the world, thanks to a variation in translation of that prophecy. I have to say, prophecies are one of my favourite things in fiction (um, usually), and I liked that the difference in translation was plausible (fun translation fact of the day: in Biblical Hebrew, the verb "to be" is implied, because it was assumed that you were). The people in Elisa's life basically turn her into someone who cannot function, because she is convinced they all think she's lazy and awful. In trying to preserve the prophecy, Elisa accidentally becomes trapped in the worst kind of self-fulfilling one.
Anyway, it was an interesting take on it, and it kept me going during the first few chapters of the book where I was desperately waiting for Elisa to be someone I could cheer for.
(Important note: I loved Elisa from pretty much the first scene...I just wasn't sure why I was reading a book about her. It was kind of cool, actually.)
Obviously, I loved the slow burn of Elisa's development (pun intended). I loved how centrally her body image played into the story, because it wasn't something I was expecting. And I really liked the take on religion, culminating in her realization in the last few pages of the book.
I think the coolest thing about this book was how it took the fantasy tropes I love and spun them, just a little.
I also really, really, really adored the ending. What an amazing thing to get published in this romance-driven era of YA marketing!
8/10 for a hard working heroine, a brilliant ending, adventure and destiny, and for reminding me that food is not the enemy.
SPOILERS BELOW.
I have to say, this book makes the best use of one of my least favourite plot devices of all time. If you've ever talked about Harry Potter with me, you'll probably remember that "Order of the Phoenix" is my least favourite of the set because it manages to combine all THREE of my least favourite plot devices. I do understand why Dumbledore didn't tell Harry all the things that would have made the book end differently, but sometimes it still bugs me.
What happened in GoFaT was a variation on that. Elisa is kept in the dark about her prophesied future by everyone in the world, thanks to a variation in translation of that prophecy. I have to say, prophecies are one of my favourite things in fiction (um, usually), and I liked that the difference in translation was plausible (fun translation fact of the day: in Biblical Hebrew, the verb "to be" is implied, because it was assumed that you were). The people in Elisa's life basically turn her into someone who cannot function, because she is convinced they all think she's lazy and awful. In trying to preserve the prophecy, Elisa accidentally becomes trapped in the worst kind of self-fulfilling one.
Anyway, it was an interesting take on it, and it kept me going during the first few chapters of the book where I was desperately waiting for Elisa to be someone I could cheer for.
(Important note: I loved Elisa from pretty much the first scene...I just wasn't sure why I was reading a book about her. It was kind of cool, actually.)
Obviously, I loved the slow burn of Elisa's development (pun intended). I loved how centrally her body image played into the story, because it wasn't something I was expecting. And I really liked the take on religion, culminating in her realization in the last few pages of the book.
I think the coolest thing about this book was how it took the fantasy tropes I love and spun them, just a little.
I also really, really, really adored the ending. What an amazing thing to get published in this romance-driven era of YA marketing!
8/10 for a hard working heroine, a brilliant ending, adventure and destiny, and for reminding me that food is not the enemy.
