Review of Medar

Medar by S.R. Manssen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Right from the start when the unlikely heroine, Freya cleverly escapes some village boys intent on tormenting her, you see that she is resourceful and independent. As a baby her face is disfigured in an accident with scalding hot water and she loses sight in one eye. All her childhood she is bullied because of this and so she has learned how to be content in her own company.

The story begins when Freya is nearly fourteen and her family is selected to live in the Golden City – which was “a ticket out of poverty and into a better life’. I liked how the world Freya lived in was presented by the author; I could see it all in my mind and it fitted together well. I was excited for Freya’s family as they left their impoverished life behind and was excited to see the Golden City. Unfortunately Freya never makes it into the Golden City as she is stopped at the Gate and her true past is revealed, and then she is separated from her parents and destined to die, her rescue coming only minutes before she was to be thrown to her death in the pit.

As the story unfolds, Freya’s resilience and determination serve her well. There are clues in an ancient prophecy to be followed and understood, each of them with dangers to overcome, making it an exciting and adventurous story that tweens and young teens will love. I especially appreciated the family aspect to the story, and how Freya’s being torn from her family affected her mother, father and brother. The shift between their story and Freya’s built the tension and made for a page-turner of a book.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting wrapped up in Medar—Freya’s world—it was engrossing. The author has done an excellent job with this, the first book in her series and I’ve already read the second book in the series and found it just as appealing.