Rewind! (Top Ten Fictional Crushes)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the bloggers of The Broke and the Bookish. This is a rewind week, meaning that I could pick any past Top Ten Tuesday topic. For this week I chose to reveal my top ten fictional crushes and I convinced Courtney of Courtney Reads A Lot to do the same topic, so check out hers as well! This could turn into a very long, very embarrassing list, so luckily I need to limit myself to ten choices. My ten choices are also characters I was introduced to years ago and thus gave me quite a bit of time to substantially crush on them.

Eugenides (The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner) — I think the livejournal group that I joined years ago aptly describes my relationship here: Eugenides stole my heart. Literally. I went into The Thief from the perspective of this seemingly crude, immature petty criminal. But as with basically everyone else in his story, I've drastically amended my prior thoughts. He's one of the cleverest, most realistic characters I've ever read about and will always be my main fictional crush. 

Harry Potter (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) — How can you read the Harry Potter series and not fall in love with Harry's character? He's not perfect, but he is brave and idealistic and accepts the responsibility he has to save the world. And being able to read about Harry's transformation from an uncertain young boy to a man of strong principles doesn't hurt.

Prince Charmont (Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine) — Like Ella, I found myself really falling for Char through his letters as he spent many months in the Ayothorian court. As his name and traditional Cinderella role implies, he is charming. But Char is so much more than that: he's trusthworthy, caring, quick to laugh, and always seeking whatever is best for those he loves and his future kingdom.

Jesse de Silva (The Mediator series by Meg Cabot) — I haven't read very many of Meg Cabot's book (for shame, I know), but I absolutely loved her Mediator series, mostly because of Jesse. It doesn't matter that Jesse is a ghost. He's protective and caring and sexy and Hispanic. I also can no longer hear the word querida and not think of him.

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) — Who doesn't have a crush on Mr. Darcy? I have this thing where I really enjoy peeling back the layers of a character who seems like an utter jerk at first but who actually turns out to harbor more sympathetic tendencies. Mr. Darcy has been raised with certain societal beliefs, but he is willing to abandon those for the woman he loves. And it didn't hurt that in my favorite film version he's played by Colin Firth.

Gabriel (Archangel by Sharon Shinn) — I think that his extremely attractive angel body and the knowledge that he is to be the next archangel have given Gabriel a sense of entitlement. He's arrogant, yet he literally believes that whatever he wants to do is best for everyone. He is also fiercely loyal and protective and has the best male singing voice in all of Samaria. I would love the opportunity to test my will against his. Or just to be in presence at all.

Silk (The Belgariad series by David Eddings) — In a lot of ways, Silk is very similar to Eugenides. He prefers to keep his true identity hidden and provides the best one-liners and sarcasm throughout the series. He definitely has all the best speaking parts and is skilled in espionage. And what can I say? I have such a weakness for guys who use lots of wordplay.

Nealan of Queenscove (Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce) — Tamora Pierce has created so many lovable male love interests; there are a few men I can name from each of her Tortall series that I really liked. Neal will always be my favorite, however. I love his penchant for the dramatics and his wry sense of humor. And I sympathized with Neal's struggle between becoming a knight to defend people and becoming a healer to save people. Beneath his sometimes apathetic veneer he really cares about others.

Fan-fiction Draco Malfoy (various Harry Potter fan-fictions) — Obviously I need to clarify this here. What J.K. Rowling has written for Draco Malfoy is not enough to justify a fictional crush. Even with the hints of Draco's struggle in The Half-Blood Prince. I did, however, form a big crush on the Draco Malfoy most commonly portrayed in fan fiction — the bad boy who is cocky and insecure but good looking and not entirely evil. A la Cassie Clare's works and others. I know I can't be the only one here.

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer) — And so my love of misunderstood evil characters continues. Artemis Fowl is all about knowledge and power and I've always been drawn to characters like that. He's a teenage genius. Sometimes caring about the good guy gets to be a bit much, but glimpses Artemis' humanity from plans less than perfectly executed really drew me to him. At least for the first few books I read, back when I was a tween.

Now that I've shared mine, let me know who some of your bigger fictional crushes are/were!

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Recommend A... Book I Could Give as a Birthday Present

Recommend A...is a new weekly feature hosted by Chick Loves Lit, where bloggers recommend a book based on a specific prompt.

This week's prompt is to recommend a book I could give as a birthday present. Hmm, this is a hard one. I do give books as birthday presents quite a bit, but my choices totally depend on the person to whom I'm giving the gift! I don't really believe in blanket presents — or even blanket books — that are just suitable for any person. 

But regardless of that, this is a book that I think both readers and writers alike can enjoy:

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott 

I generally prefer to read fiction to non-fiction, but every once in a while I turn to non-fiction for particular needs. My entire family has been aware of my love of writing (and eventual authorship plans) for quite some time now, and my mom has by far been the most supportive, even buying me books on writing now and then. This is one of those "books on writing" that she's bought me and I've read it now a few times. 

I do enjoy how Lamott is able to personalize her book. Yes, it's a book about the craft of writing. But it's also a book about Lamott's journey to publication and specific tips and tricks she picked up over the years. If I can't have a protagonist on some epic journey, at least Bird by Bird is able to provide some characters and conflicts nonetheless. I think this blurb from Goodreads sums up the book nicely:

If you have ever wondered what it takes to be a writer, what it means to be a writer, what the contents of your school lunches said about what your parents were really like, this books for you. From faith, love, and grace to pain, jealousy, and fear, Lamott insists that you keep your eves open, and then shows you how to survive. And always, from the life of the artist she turns to the art of life.

This is a book I'd give as a gift to any aspiring writer.

What book would you recommend as a birthday present?

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Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Published: 2008, Harcourt

Series: Graceling Realm, #1

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Personal book

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He was very good. But she was Katsa. 

I have no idea why I've waited so long to continue with this series. I read Graceling a few years ago at the recommendation of a friend and loved it. Then last summer I borrowed Fire from the library and tried to read it, only to realize that a reread of Graceling was necessary first. As I read Graceling for a second time, I was surprised by how little I remembered. That's one of the main reasons I started writing reviews, actually: so that when I am unable to read series right in a row (which is how I prefer to read them), I can look back at my reviews and thoughts as a way to prepare for the next book. And I am so glad that Bitterblue was released right as I started blogging, because I really needed that push to go back to the wonderful story of Graceling and then continue with the series.

In the world of the Seven Kingdoms, a child whose eyes change into two distinct colors becomes known as a Graceling. Only a small percentage of the population is Graced, possessing special innate abilities. Gracelings are both feared and respected for their abilities. Katsa is one such Graceling, the niece of King Randa of the Middluns. Her Grace gives her powerful fighting abilities, which King Randa has taken advantage of by making her into his royal thug. Katsa is not happy with her life or the state of the Seven Kingdoms in general, but since she does not know how to change her own life she makes herself content by leading the Council, an underground group that works to bring justice to the lands. But saving the former king of the country of Lienid becomes much more than a simple Council operation. No king seems to be culpable for the kidnapping, and Katsa befriends Po, the youngest prince of Lienid who is also searching for answers to his grandfather's kidnapping. Together Katsa and Po journey to discover the truth behind the kidnapping, as well as to gain a better understanding of the Seven Kingdoms and of themselves.

I enjoyed everything that had to do with the mysterious kidnapping of the royal Lienid patriarch. Unfolding the layers of deception along with Katsa and Po was just so eye-opening. And I absolutely loved the fact that Katsa and Po are clever and resourceful enough to figure out twists and make revelations when I do, if not even earlier. Too often I feel like YA characters are too naive or simply not perceptive enough. Perhaps it's partially due to the fact that I'm no longer a teenager. I never felt, however, that Katsa and Po were dumbed down for the audience. In the world of the Seven Kingdoms they're adults. I loved seeing Katsa and Po continually rise to the challenges that faced them, both internally and externally.

Katsa is one of my favorite heroines ever. I'll always love a heroine who can fight and hold her own against anyone, but even better than that is Katsa's characterization. Being a Graceling is not easy for any person. All Gracelings are taken to their royal courts upon discovery of their distinctive eyes. Those with Graces deemed to be useful remain under the employ of their kings while the other ones are sent back home. Having a Grace seems like it would be more of a curse than a blessing, and that is especially true for Katsa. Ever since she accidentally killed an older cousin she felt threatened by, she's been forced to carry out King Randa's "justice" through physical violence and intimidation. Although she definitely suffers from self-doubt, Katsa concentrates her energy into doing good whenever she can. It takes Katsa a while to fully realize her own freedom, and she's written in such a way that I found myself emphasizing with her situation, even though her struggles are something that I could never relate to. Katsa is not always an easy character to love, sometimes prone to anger and not always able to fully express her thoughts and feelings. But at her core it's apparent that she's a good person who has had terrible circumstances forced upon her. She's prickly but never to the point of being unrelatable, nor does she fall into that YA trope of the naive heroine unaware of her worth or what others think of her. Katsa doesn't have all the answers or self-confidence right away, but that's okay. She actually grows realistically and learns how to develop solid relationships.

The secondary characters are all strong and distinct, even with such a strong female protagonist. Po is one of my favorite YA fantasy love interests. Although he's had to hide so many truths and secrets from people over the years, he's inexplicably drawn to Katsa and trusts her from the beginning. He is perceptive enough to realize things that Katsa cannot vocalize and I loved learning about the secrets that he must struggle to hide. That twist near the end about Po almost killed me at first, but, as I continued to read and think about it, it makes perfect sense. I'll just say that Po really is defined by his perceptiveness. While I had to suspend my disbelief that Bitterblue is only ten years old, I actually loved the fact that she's an older soul in a young girl's body. As the princess of Monsea Bitterblue has been exposed to brainwashing, fear, and hopelessness. I'll believe that those difficult situations have developed Bitterblue into a more pensive and observant person. And after reading so much about Katsa's physical strength, it was really nice to contrast her with Bitterblue's more internal determination. I enjoyed how Katsa and Bitterblue act as foils for one another. I developed an understanding even of many of the minor characters, from Raffin to Bann to Grandfather Tealiff to Helda to Oll to Giddon to the many, many corrupt kings. Characterization is super important to me as a reader, and I must say that all of Cashore's characters are phenominally written. 

In Graceling I've found the type of romance that I love and expect in novels I read. I've stated many times that I abhor instalove, love triangles, or even having the romance take prominence over the storyline. None of those personal dislikes can be found within Graceling. Katsa and Po's relationship undergoes a very realistic development. Their relationship starts out with a bang when Katsa renders Po unconscious, and it never truly becomes an easy relationship for either of them. Katsa and Po must constantly challenge their perceptions of themselves and of each other. Their relationship helps make both of them stronger, but neither of them ever allows it to become more important than their mission. In that way Katsa and Po truly have a mature relationship. I just loved reading about the personal growth that occurred from being with a person based on mutual respect and understanding.

I love the fact that Graceling is not a series in the true sense of the word. Rather, Cashore chose to write a series of companion novels about this world. Fire is a chronologically earlier story that occurs in the neighboring lands while Bitterblue features many of the same characters as Graceling but switches protagonists. I finished reading Graceling with a feeling of satisfaction in its completeness. That's not too common a feeling nowadays, unfortunately.Though there were details here and there that would have been nice to have been further expanded, Cashore does tie up all the important loose ends.

I thoroughly enjoyed Kristin Cashore's Graceling. It is a well-imagined and well-characterized high fantasy that helps to remind me of why I love this genre so much. Katsa is pretty much one of my favorite protagonists ever, and she and Po have a relationship that all other YA relationships should aspire to become. I have a feeling that Graceling will become one of those books I'll reread whenever I'm in the mood for a strong female protagonist with a realistic and well-developed relationship. I can already tell I'm going to be a lifelong fan of Cashore's works.

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Review: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Published: 2012, McElderry Books

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Library book

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The moon etched a path across the sky. Still, Liyana danced. And still, her goddess did not come.

Ever since I first saw the cover and read the promotional blurb for Vessel, I knew that this was something that I had to read. There's little I love more in high fantasy worlds than solid worldbuilding with a believable mythology that has a relevant place in the world's culture. And while its cover does fall into the trope of a girl wearing a pretty dress, this cover is very relevant to the plot. I went into this book expecting an engaging new high fantasy and was not disappointed in the slightest.

Liyana has spent the majority of her life knowing that she is a vessel for her clan's goddess, Bayla, and that through her body Bayla will be able to perform miracles and allow the Goat Clan to survive for another one hundred years. It's an honor being chosen as a vessel, but it is also a tragedy: for a deity to take control of one's body, the vessel's spirit must die. Liyana has grown up knowing that this would happen and believes she has completely accepted her fate. On the day she is to die, however, Liyana cannot help wishing that she was not a vessel, that she didn't have to give up her life at such a young age. And then something unexpected happens: Liyana performs her role in the ceremonial dance perfectly, inviting Bayla to come and inhabit her body, but Bayla does not come. The Goat Clan needs Bayla's powers to survive the Great Drought and so they abandon Liyana in the desert, hoping that by selecting a new location and vessel, they can summon Bayla to them.

Alone and bereft of purpose, Liyana fortunately doesn't have to spend much time contemplating her existence before the trickster god Korbyn, properly summoned to his human vessel, walks out of the desert and tells Liyana that many of the gods and goddesses have been summoned to inhabit false vessels and that he needs her help to restore order. Liyana and Korbyn travel across the desert to bring together other vessels whose gods have failed to answer their summons and then seek out their missing gods.

I have a huge weakness for a fantasy that features a "Chosen One" storyline. Liyana was chosen by her clan as the perfect vessel for their goddess Bayla, but being chosen for this honor involves a sacrifice of the self. Liyana is more than willing to pay that price to see her loved ones survive, but she, like most people placed in that position, still questions her fate. The beginning sequence of the novel beautifully details the day that Liyana believes she will die, from when she awakes until when she believes she is to breathe her last breath. In a lot of ways, the beginning of the book reminds me of my absolute favorite chapter of the Harry Potter series: "The Forest Again." As I said, I definitely have a thing for the heightened emotions that come with the Chosen One attempting to fulfill his/her destiny.

Even though the Goat Clan easily abandons Liyana once it appears that Bayla has forsaken her, Liyana is a protagonist whose struggles will continue to resonate with me for a while. Throughout the novel Liyana feels a push and pull from her two main conflicting mentalities: she wants to do whatever she can to help her people, but at the same time she can't but wish for another way, a way to help that didn't involve her self-sacrifice. Vessel deals with some major issues and is a very thought-provoking novel. Liyana is the perfect protagonist for this novel: practical, hopeful, determined to always look forward towards a better future. And then to contrast her are the other vessels. Both Pia and Fennik wholeheartedly accept their fates, while Raan goes so far as to openly rebel against hers. None of them are cliches, however, and over the course of the novel Liyana and the readers are able to understand the various beliefs that drive each character's actions. It made me so emotional to read about all these vessels, for very different reasons. Where does one draw the line between selfishness and self-preservation? While their struggles are not exactly relatable, I nonetheless found that I had a pretty good understanding of the characters and their conflicts.

The worldbuilding is truly wonderful. I could so vividly picture the great deserts full of so many perils, from the sand wolves to the cobras to the sky snakes to the sand worms to more natural disasters like draughts. Since the desert clans seemed to have an oral culture, I loved how Durst revealed more of their culture and history through stories. I am sure that the mythologies do pay homage to actual cultures and civilizations, but they also retain a sense of feeling absolutely organic to this world that Durst has created. I had a few nitpicky questions about how big each clan actually is and about their lives in general, but that information is not the focus of the story, so I was able disregard those questions. What matters more to me is that Durst is able to create a high fantasy world and contain a storyline within one book, not too common a feat these days. Of course I would never say no to more worldbuilding, I think it's far more important for an author to tell the story he or she wants to tell without feeling the need to expand it into multiple series because of our series-oriented society.

While the shifting points of view were not my favorite part of the book (no surprise here), I thought they kind of made sense. The Crescent Empire is not immune to the Great Drought any more than the clans of the desert are, and so we as readers are privy to occasional chapters focusing on the emperor and his quest to find the fabled magical lake and there use magic to somehow help restore his lands. Of all the important characters, I think that the emperor is the least developed, but then again I am glad that the focus of this story is on the gods and the desert people rather than the emperor and the people of his empire.

Really the only complaint I have with this book is related to the romance. I was willing to overlook the initial almost-love-triangle strangeness because it wasn't a true triangle and the feelings that develop between two characters seem understandable and almost organic. And, yes, I also accepted the fact that this relationship does not truly make sense in the context of this world, so I wasn't overly heartbroken. I was confused, however, by the new relationship established at the end. There wasn't nearly as much context, although I think that much of that relationship's formulation would have happened after the end of the book and before the epilogue. But regardless of the few romance qualms I had, Vessel provides an intense focus on its protagonist Liyana and her personal struggles and development.

Vessel is undisputedly one of the superior novels I've read this year. It features a well-crafted storyline, detailed worldbuilding, and three-dimensional characters. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fantastic high fantasy stand-alone. I will be looking through Sarah Beth Durst's published book backlog and can't wait to hear about any upcoming novels!

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Top Ten Older Books I Don't Want People to Forget About

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the bloggers of The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is my top ten "older" books that I don't want people to forget about. For clarification of the topic, I interpreted "older" to mean any books published at least ten years ago. 

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997) — Ella Enchanted will forever and always be my favorite Cinderella (and fairy-tale in general) retelling. Although she's cursed with obedience, Ella is spunky, clever, and determined, and the type of fairy-tale heroines that all retelling authors should attempt to imitate. I am beyond saddened at how horribly the movie represented this book. The movie can fade into oblivion, but I want this story to be read for ages to come.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (1997) — Crown Duel is one of my favorite fantasies. My version actually has the two novels Crown Duel and Court Duel combined. I love how the two different novels each focus on a different issue, as evidenced by the title. The former is all about war tactics and physical fighting while the second is about political intrigue in court. Together they can help readers see how multifaceted political conflicts really are.

  

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999) — Speak is such a subtle yet powerful book and really raises awareness of the many issues that teens endure in our current society. Even if more and more awareness is raised about these particular issues, this is a book that should constantly be read. I haven't read any of Anderson's other books, but my understanding is that they all deal with important teen issues that need to continually be brought to attention.

 

The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993) — The Giver is my favorite YA/MG dystopian novel of all time. I just love the world Lowry created where people place all the world's memories on one person, who then makes informed decisions about how everyone should live. It speaks volumes in terms of how much people can be afraid to hear the truth, and how tempting it is to hand all the responsibility to another.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953) — Bradbury's perennial classic about the threats of too much governmental control and censorship so far has been remembered. I think that this is another dystopian that needs to be read. While I can't imagine modern societies burning books and enforcing censorship, it has happened before. So it's an issue we definitely need to keep in the backs of our minds. Words contain so much power. 

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (2002) — Both The House of the Scorpion and The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm are fantastic examples of Nancy Farmer's post-apocalyptic series. I love the fact that The House of the Scorpion takes place in a futuristic world infused with Mexican culture. It's hands-down one of the most thought-provoking books I ever read as a child. What does define life? What sort of ownership should humans have over their clones? Mat's story is one that will continue to resonate with me for years and years.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997) — Of course the first Harry Potter book had to make my list! It's not my favorite (that would be the seventh book), but it establishes the groundwork for one of the best children's fantasy series I have ever read. There's just something so satisfying about reading how an isolated child told he's nothing special for years suddenly finds out he's magical and has a means to leave his horrible old life behind. And nothing beats reading about Harry discovering the magical world of wizardry for the first time.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985) — Although I have owned this book for long time, I only read it myself two years ago. One of the best aspects about Ender's Game is how it shows the strength and power that children have, but it's about more than brute strength or military tactics. Children are ultimately shown to be resourceful, whether it is Ender and his friends developing new drills to test out against other teams], or Valentine and Peter influencing political decisions.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) — If there was any story to be a one-hit (er, one-novel) wonder of, it would definitely be To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee's classic story forces us to look at societal issues such as racism through the eyes of a child. Perhaps that isn't too out of the ordinary now, but back then it certainly was something radical back when it was published.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (1967) — Another YA classic. It's been such a long time since I've last read The Outsiders, but it really is such a moving book. Besides giving its readers a little insight into a past culture, it deals with some perennial issues that teenagers continue to face, from ostracism to crushes to drama. And it features a male cast, which is a rarity in YA literature.

What are some older books that you don't want others to forget about?

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In My Mailbox #7

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It's a great way for book bloggers to showcase books and other literary things they've received over the past week.

This is a special birthday edition! My birthday was this past Friday, so I wanted to show off what I received.

Purchased:

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

I need more adult fiction in my life. Desperately. So when I saw that this was on sale at Amazon, I snatched it up. I vaguely know it's about time travel and dealing with grief. Not much more than that, but ratings have been pretty high so I'm willing to try this out!

Borrowed:

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Already read and reviewed here. Suffice it to say that it's a really thought-provoking science fiction novel but isn't the best in terms of being a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

I am not quite sure what made me so excited to read this book, especially considering I haven't read many reviews. Just the idea of a "chosen one" and gods that interact with humans is enough to make me super excited, I suppose. And it has become one of my favorite books for the year. Look out for my review later this week!

Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, #3) by Kristin Cashore

Yes! I refuse to buy this book until it's paperback like my copies of Graceling and Fire, so that meant months and months of waiting on my library's waiting list. And I've also been waiting on a Graceling reread and Fire first read so that I could devour all three of Cashore's companion novels at once.

Given:
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Words cannot express how excited I am to read J.K. Rowling's new adult novel. Like a large percentage of Rowling's many fans, I was fortunate enough to grow up with the Harry Potter books. The Casual Vacancy is the type of book I would never randomly decide to read, but I will read anything published by J.K. Rowling and I am eager to see what story she crafted this time.
Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters series, #1) by Juliet Marillier
Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters series, #2) by Juliet Marillier
Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters series, #3) by Juliet Marillier
These were the first three books I read by Juliet Marillier, years ago when this was a trilogy and not a series. These are still my favorite works of hers, and after reading a number of recent reviews of Daughter of the Forest, I realized how desperately I need to go back to Sevenwaters and experience the magical stories once again. And then after I finish these three I fully intend to read Marillier's later three Sevenwaters books for the first time.
The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim
I honestly have not heard of this book before, but apparently the method behind it is that you read a small article in it each night for an entire year. There are seven fields of knowledge that repeat each week and each week is a different theme. Sounds interesting and I'm totally down for gaining small bits of knowledge each night. 

What did you receive in your mailbox?

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Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Published: 2012, Balzer + Bray

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Retelling
Source: Library book

Contains spoilers for Jane Austen's Persuasion, since it is a retelling

Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble 

Envy hurt exponentially more than heartbreak because your soul was torn in two, half soaring with happiness for another person, half mired in a well of self-pity and pain.

My main interest in reading Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars was definitely the fact that it is a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. It's not a secret to anyone who knows me that I love all things Jane Austen, and after doing a Persuasion read along this summer I just felt compelled to read this genre-defying science fiction/dystopian/post-apocalyptic version. Reading it with Persuasion so fresh in my mind proved to be a little detrimental, however I did find myself enjoying all the new aspects that Peterfreund brought into this retelling.

In this futuristic society, people are divided into three groups. There are the Reduced, the offspring of those who took genetic engineering too far and played the role of God. The Reduced look human, but are unable to mentally advance beyond the age of an early child. There are the Luddites, the offspring of the people who refused to partake in the genetic experimentation in the past and thus did not have their lineages suffer. The Luddites fully believe that the Reduced are God's punishment for those ancestors and their experiments, so the Luddites feel a sense of entitlement for their superior positions. The Luddites also believe that it is their responsibility to take care of the Reduced. And a third class has emerged between the two: the Post-Reductionists. For a while the Reduced only gave birth to more Reduced, but recently a trend has emerged where the Reduced are sometimes giving birth to children whose mental facilities are no different from the Luddites. While the Post-Reductionists prefer to call themselves so, the Luddites see this terminology as a threat to their society and the semblance of stability.

Elliot North has experienced this fractured society firsthand growing up on her family's Luddite estate. Although the Luddites fear progress and anything that has the potential to negatively impact the society that they have created, Elliot does not necessarily buy into that mentality. As the one who actually runs the estate, if not the nominal lord, her concerns are for the continued success and well-being of the North estate and all of its people. Again and again her Luddite philosophies clash with her knowledge of her changing world as she becomes best friends with Kai, a Post-Reductionist worker, befriends many other Post-Reductionists, gets to better understand the culture of her home, and even genetically enhances a wheat crop herself — all for the greater good of the people of the North estate. Her own confused thoughts on a gradually Post-Reductionist society are brought to the forefront when her grandfather's shipyard is rented to a group of free Post-Reductionist explorers, one of whom is her ex-best-friend Kai.

It is difficult for me to collect my thoughts on For Darkness Shows the Stars as an independent work since I did commence my reading with the understanding that this is a retelling. There were many ways in which I felt that the adherence to Persuasion's storyline is a bit of a detriment in For Darkness Shows the Stars. Persuasion is a story about the power of persuasion, and about how easily people can ignore their own predilections if another can give a good argument. As its core, For Darkness Shows the Stars has a fundamentally different aim.  Persuasion shows how Anne Elliot's decision to not marry Captain Wentforth has profoundly affected her life, but her life alone is the only one that really suffers. That is not really true in For Darkness Shows the Stars, where Elliot North's conflicting thoughts on Kai's views of changing society and the place of progress and Post-Reductionists has consequences that affect tons of people; this is no isolated love story, but rather a critique of a society's fear of progress. Although Jane Austen's story does bring up questions about the changing society and how governmental organizations like the navy were helping society as the aristocracy began to flounder, these messages are not nearly as explicit as Peterfreund's are.

Elliot North is a likable protagonist, and I found myself emphasizing with her struggle between saving her estate and the importance of her Luddite ancestry. She's resourceful and determined and not quite the pushover I'd expected since she is based on Anne Elliot. I'm not saying that I dislike Anne Elliot by any means, but Elliot North and her struggles are much easier for me to relate to. The fact that her decision to remain behind instead of going to a Post-Reductionist enclave with Kai had less to do with a sense of uncertainty versus her knowledge that the estate needed her also helped.

Since Persuasion is literally all about mourning lost love and questioning past decisions, there's no way I could read something like For Darkness Shows the Stars and not examine how this theme was touched upon here. First the good of Elliot and Kai's relationship: I felt like I really got a good understanding of their relationship. Through past letters periodically spread throughout the novel, I was privy to the development of their friendship as the two learned about each other, their different places in society, and began to question why things were the way they were. Although the letters were not my favorite way for all of this backstory to be conveyed, I still loved the solid foundations that Peterfreund establishes for their relationship.

Now the bad: I just couldn't buy into this idea that Elliot and Kai were separated at fourteen and yet considered each other to be the loves of their lives and spent four years pining for one another. While I just mentioned that I think the establishment of their relationship is well done, I speak only of the establishment of a solid friendship. I could buy them mourning each other's friendship over the years. One of the most powerful aspects of Persuasion is that eight years of youth and marriageability pass Anne by as she literally cannot stop regretting her choice to stay behind as Wentworth went on to prove his worth. I never really got a sense that Elliot was mourning the fact that she stayed at her estate, especially since it was so clear how necessary her presence was there. And there's no way that I'd be convinced that Elliot would not be able to move on and find a new love, given time. In Persuasion Anne is literally stagnant, continually regretting her decision to stay behind and let Wentworth go, but there's not this same sense of regret for Elliot North. Despite those issues, I still enjoyed the relationship that continues to develop between Elliot and Wentworth once they are reunited. I am a sucker for those romances where the characters struggle with seemingly irreconcilable differences, only to begin to develop a mutual understanding and respect much later. I did feel, however, that the romance itself is secondary to the bigger themes of the story.

As a book in its own right, I really enjoyed For Darkness Shows the Stars. I really enjoyed the morality questions it offers and some of the answers that it proposes. It is a book that does not shy away from the difficult questions. Can progress ever be justified, or is the inexorable pull towards progress really just another way to repeat past mistakes? Are human lives all equal, or do the mistakes of our ancestors continue to condemn us? I did feel, however, that this would have been better off not as a Persuasion retelling. The focus is on morality and humanity after all, not a lost love. I am sure that those who aren't as critical of retellings and their use of the original source material, or those who haven't actually read Persuasion, will not find nearly that many issues.

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