Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1), by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)
By Rae Carson
Publication Date: September 20th, 2011 (Greenwillow)
Hardcover, 424 pages
Genre: Fantasy; Adventure; YA
Source: Library

DESCRIPTION:

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young.

Most of the chosen do.

—from the book's dust jacket

REVIEW:

Here. I will provide you, joyous reader, with an even shorter blurb, a summary if you will, brought to you by the copyright page of The Girl of Fire and Thorns:

SUMMARY: A fearful sixteen-year-old princess discovers her heroic destiny after being married off to the king of a neighboring country in turmoil and pursued by enemies seething with dark magic.

:/ Still not good enough.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, the first book in a planned trilogy (I can't wait for the next book which comes out in September 2012!) follows the arc of Elisa, a fat and useless princess who God had chosen to provide an act of service to the human race. She sits around, eating pomegranate scones, venison with basil and garlic, and spiced lamb shanks with buttered spinach (Let your mouth water. Food is mentioned a ton in this book, but it is not overly described. It's always the occasional, "We're eating this:") until she's literally bursting her dress seams.

Yet, somehow, she is THE BEARER of this century's "Godstone," which is fixed in her navel, always reminding her of her destiny, turning cold to warn her and turning warm to assure her (in essence, Elisa's Godstone is a bit like Harry Potter's scar). Elisa, of course, knows God has it all wrong. He must have picked the wrong person, because she is no where near heroic. She's nothing like her sister, which she envies oh so much.

So, Elisa gets married off to the neighboring kingdom's king, who needs Elisa, Bearer of the Godstone, to help him defeat barbaric, bloodthirsty invaders and protect his kingdom. However, as a Bearer of the Godstone, she's more sought after than she thinks, by friends—and by cutthroat enemies.

THE END OF MY BLURB

Anyway, Elisa is a wonderful character. Quite Kick-Ass, if I do say so myself. Even while she was fat, she was never as useless as she thought she was. She saw the venomous people her husband's court for what they were, and the gears in her head were always turning. She was analytical and a wonderful problem solver. Quite frankly, she was utterly brilliant. And she grows into her skin even more than just figuring out puzzles—actually, I could say Elisa grew out of her skin, such was the nature of her destiny, courage, and will power.

To everyone who says they predicted something in a book: you will not be able to predict the mind-blowing events in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. It's like slight-of-hand. The surprises in The Girl of Fire and Thorns are like getting slapped; or being pushed out of a car going 60 miles-an-hour; or having your heart sucked out, through your mouth, by an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner.

I can't begin to tell you how much I found Elisa admirable and inspiring. It will probably come across as cheesy, dear reader, but she's the embodiment of heroism coming from a person nobody would define as even remotely "heroic." Nobody would ever suspect that Elisa is capable of having courage and being a strong leader. I like the idea that anyone, even that quiet, lonely person sitting next to you in Advanced Pre-Calculus, can have the making of a hero—they just need the opportunity.

Please please please bare with The Girl of Fire and Thorns to at least Part Two (page 142 in the hardcover edition) if you do choose to read it. If you want to put it then, sure; I won't hold a grudge because at least you tried. The beginning is awfully slow, and you will be tempted to put the book down (if we're being honest, I actually did put the book down numerous times because I had to return it to the library. I've had to borrow it at least three times, each borrow a period of two weeks. I've been reading it since April and just finished it yesterday, August 20th, 2012). But just please please please make it to Part Two at least: That's when Elisa stops being some fat girl who thinks she's useless, and starts to become the Bearer of the Godstone who knows her own strength—a girl truly of fire and thorns.

RATING: