So with this book I decided to take a little bit of a break from my usual perusal fare, and went into some Young Adult fiction instead.
I was expecting to be a little put off by the fact it was written for a younger audience and would (I thought) just shove stuff in your face to make sure you got what the author was talking about. But I really wasn't, it's easy to forget that YA is just as exciting, thrilling and complex as any other genre that you care to name.
The book is set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic world, but the details are sketchy and it's not like the world has radiation poisoning, everything is back to normal and everyone tries to preserve the Balance, so the world doesn't implode in on itself again.
That's why I was worried it would be a bit in your face with the themes and some aspects of the story, but Kwaymullina uses those themes to accent and drive the story rather than use the themes as the mainstay and the story as a sideline.
We follow the story of Ashala Wolf, one of the 'Illegals' who are shunned because of their supernatural powers. I'm not going to lie, I'm thinking of the X-Men, not a bad thing, but I'm a bit of a geek anyways so that's where my mind's going.
These powers are central to the plot as they are the whole reason that Ashala has been captured, and ran away in the first place. Apart from the fact that these Illegals are being hunted by the government, we don't find out too much about why they have these powers, leaving us lots to be discovered in later books.
As the story begins Ashala has been captured by agents of the government and, oddly enough, an interrogation is about to take place. To glean any information Ashala is willing (or not!) to give up about her group of Illegals.
Placing Ashala in this weird and not so wonderful place gives her a chance to be just as out of place as we would be, so a consist mystery is present and we are given glimpses into Ashala's past and that of the post-apocalyptic world which she inhabits.
I did find the romantic elements slightly odd at first, but the parts that I found a bit awkward and crow-barred in were eventually explained and my fears were once more allayed. This is a personal thing, as I was not overly keen on the romantic elements in Daughter of Smoke and Bone despite how much I enjoyed the book overall.
The first person perspective reinforces the mystery that we see being presented in the book and, I think, helps to hammer home the confusion and lessons that Ashala finds as the story progresses.
We see some very colourful characters along the way and they really bring Ashala's tribe to life. Although each of the members of Ashala's tribe are children of varying ages they have fully developed and varied personalities and I can still hear the giggles and laughter bursting from some of the characters.
They contrast greatly against the grey and dreary parts of the book that are set in the government buildings. Kwaymullina does this rather well and even now looking back and thinking about the characters and the story there is a definite monochrome that hovers over the government buildings, compared to the bright and luminous colours of the setting outside the city.
This isn't to say that the characters from the government are too dull or boring, just that the setting is nicely differentiated from that outside the city. The characters who come from the city are still diverse and have their own drives and emotions.
Kwaymullina does a wonderful job of bringing her strong themes together in story, setting and characters. There are trials and tribulations, victories and jubilation. We follow Ashala from her confusing capture and the tale slowly unravels around her. The way that Kwaymullina shows us this unraveling delves us into a mysterious tale, leaving us wanting more at the end of the book. A thoroughly enjoyable read with a powerful message about the environment weaved in.
Continue Reading...
I was expecting to be a little put off by the fact it was written for a younger audience and would (I thought) just shove stuff in your face to make sure you got what the author was talking about. But I really wasn't, it's easy to forget that YA is just as exciting, thrilling and complex as any other genre that you care to name.
The book is set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic world, but the details are sketchy and it's not like the world has radiation poisoning, everything is back to normal and everyone tries to preserve the Balance, so the world doesn't implode in on itself again.
That's why I was worried it would be a bit in your face with the themes and some aspects of the story, but Kwaymullina uses those themes to accent and drive the story rather than use the themes as the mainstay and the story as a sideline.
We follow the story of Ashala Wolf, one of the 'Illegals' who are shunned because of their supernatural powers. I'm not going to lie, I'm thinking of the X-Men, not a bad thing, but I'm a bit of a geek anyways so that's where my mind's going.
These powers are central to the plot as they are the whole reason that Ashala has been captured, and ran away in the first place. Apart from the fact that these Illegals are being hunted by the government, we don't find out too much about why they have these powers, leaving us lots to be discovered in later books.
As the story begins Ashala has been captured by agents of the government and, oddly enough, an interrogation is about to take place. To glean any information Ashala is willing (or not!) to give up about her group of Illegals.
Placing Ashala in this weird and not so wonderful place gives her a chance to be just as out of place as we would be, so a consist mystery is present and we are given glimpses into Ashala's past and that of the post-apocalyptic world which she inhabits.
I did find the romantic elements slightly odd at first, but the parts that I found a bit awkward and crow-barred in were eventually explained and my fears were once more allayed. This is a personal thing, as I was not overly keen on the romantic elements in Daughter of Smoke and Bone despite how much I enjoyed the book overall.
The first person perspective reinforces the mystery that we see being presented in the book and, I think, helps to hammer home the confusion and lessons that Ashala finds as the story progresses.
We see some very colourful characters along the way and they really bring Ashala's tribe to life. Although each of the members of Ashala's tribe are children of varying ages they have fully developed and varied personalities and I can still hear the giggles and laughter bursting from some of the characters.
They contrast greatly against the grey and dreary parts of the book that are set in the government buildings. Kwaymullina does this rather well and even now looking back and thinking about the characters and the story there is a definite monochrome that hovers over the government buildings, compared to the bright and luminous colours of the setting outside the city.
This isn't to say that the characters from the government are too dull or boring, just that the setting is nicely differentiated from that outside the city. The characters who come from the city are still diverse and have their own drives and emotions.
Kwaymullina does a wonderful job of bringing her strong themes together in story, setting and characters. There are trials and tribulations, victories and jubilation. We follow Ashala from her confusing capture and the tale slowly unravels around her. The way that Kwaymullina shows us this unraveling delves us into a mysterious tale, leaving us wanting more at the end of the book. A thoroughly enjoyable read with a powerful message about the environment weaved in.
