Book Review for Scribes by James Wolanyk

Scribes, by James Wolanyk, tells the story of a young girl who, through her gift, was able to see the world as how it truly was, both in its beauty and its corruption.

Anna, first of Thomas, was running from trackers alongside her younger brother, Julek. When Julek is killed, she is taken in by a tracker who recognizes her abilities as a scribe. She then goes up North, where she meets a young boy named Shem, as well as a woman named Bora, who shows her the realities of the world. As she continues on her journey, she realizes that sometimes, she has to stand up for herself if she wanted survive. In this fantastical novel, Wolanyk illustrates that not every gift is blessed, and that even power that can heal can lead to the most devastating consequences.

I enjoyed the relationship between Anna and the tracker. While the tracker did seem heartless at first, I did come to admire him. He knew people would do anything for salt, and even called out her parents for it. Not only that, but it’s like he was mentoring her, making sure she knew what to do and how to survive in the world. Bora did the same thing, although even now I still find it hard to trust her. Shem, on the other hand, was completely innocent. He felt like he only had to rely on Anna, that he could protect her and that everything will be fine. He got his first taste when they came to the orza, where she didn’t call him by his name, when he experienced jealously for the first time. All these characters played a role in Anna’s development, forcing her to see what life truly was.

The world Anna grew up in was also astonishing. From being sold out by her parents to being worshiped as as goddess, it was all she could do to not let that perfect life go to her head. On the surface, it seemed like a fairytale come true, but even so, there was still something sinister festering in the darkness. People like the traveler, Bora, and Shem helped her find her way, made sure she wasn’t swept up by the gilded promise the orza promised her. Because in the end, she can’t afford to. She had to grow up quickly, and the only thing she could do was simply live her life, not only as a scribe, but as a human.

I did wish that the relationship between Anna and Konrad were more fleshed out. But more than that, while I did think it cute, I also felt it was a bit out of place in this story. I would’ve preferred more of a transition between scenes; there were times when I had to reread the sentence simply because the locations suddenly jumped from one place to the other.

Nevertheless, I did like the book. While the sudden change in scenes can be dizzying, Anna’s development, as well as her relationships with the other characters, make the book unpredictably wonderful. Wolanyk shows that the world isn’t at all like the fairytale we often dream of, that it comes with its own set of dangers. As such I would give this book a rating of a 3.4 out of 5.0 stars, and recommend it to those who love Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and Updrift by Errin Stevens.