Monday Book Recs--Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I loved how this book opened, with Kami in a regular, everyday situation. She has a family, friends, go to school in a regular town, has a plan for her life including becoming a reporter, and she is working toward that plan. I love it when any character has a plan, but especially a girl, because there are so many female characters who seem to wander around waiting for life to happen to them, instead of for them to happen to life.

The introduction of the speculative element in the book is so understated you might not even notice it for a little while. It turns out Kami has an imaginary friend named Jared, whom she has talked to all her life in her mind. He talks to her back, and while at first you might not be sure, you realize not too long after that Jared is no ordinary imaginary friend. In fact, Kami and Jared meet in person for the first time in the early chapters of the book.

And this is where I started to love the book. I tell writers all the time that the best kind of speculative fiction uses our world as a template and changes one thing. Just one thing. That's all you need to do. Really, if you change on thing and you do it well, you will be changing everything, but just slightly, and the genius is in showing how those small changes ripple through everything. Sure, you can do epic fantasy where there are elves and dwarves and magic spells, and special magic objects to search for, and a secret history of the kingdom. Sometimes I yawn when I hear these elements, though. I want really good writing and great characters, and they don't have to be dressed up in fancy clothese necessarily. Too often writers focus on the fancy clothes and miss the rest of a great story. Sarah Rees Brennan doesn't do that.

Because when Kami and Jared meet--wow! It isn't the fantasy that they would have imagined. It's awful. Jared thinks of Kami as "some annoying Asian girl" and Kami hears his thoughts. Kami, meanwhile, thinks Jared is hot and would like to date him, but he can't even stand to touch her. And for both of them, the person they once trusted most with all their deepest, scariest thoughts, has now become someone they can't trust, they can't share with, and is all too complicated to know what to do with. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I even like the way it ended, though I am trying hard not to give spoilers here.

Also, just because I say that Brennan's book changes one little thing and then lets it ripple, don't think that means that there aren't lots of fun magical things going on here. There's plenty of big world building and magic rules and all the things that you love in fantasy. It's just that it starts small and then starts rolling and then sort of explodes near the end. Hang on to your hat!