The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 10, 2012 Shannon rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, color-blue, epic-fantasy, young-adult, terrible-writing, waste-of-time, magic, novels, color-brown

If you caught even just a couple of my updates I think it would've been plainly obvious that I didn't enjoy this book. It's disappointing, really, because I think Carson was attempting to create a heroine that many girls could relate to. Elisa is overweight, unsure of herself, overshadowed by her prettier and skinnier sister, and chosen for something she's not sure she's worthy of. It sounds like the beginning of a compelling story, but ultimately Elisa only proves her worthiness by changing eve If you caught even just a couple of my updates I think it would've been plainly obvious that I didn't enjoy this book. It's disappointing, really, because I think Carson was attempting to create a heroine that many girls could relate to. Elisa is overweight, unsure of herself, overshadowed by her prettier and skinnier sister, and chosen for something she's not sure she's worthy of. It sounds like the beginning of a compelling story, but ultimately Elisa only proves her worthiness by changing everything about herself. And walking. A lot.

Elisa is fat and likes to eat. You will hear about the food she eats and the sweets she craves so often that you'll start to wonder if you're reading a thinly veiled advertisement instead, or if this book was sponsored by the coconut or lamb industry. This girl eats so many scones. And when she's not eating, she's thinking about her next meal or about what she had the day before. Even after Elisa loses some weight and doesn't need to shove food down her gullet 24/7 to stave off headaches and fatigue, the story still revolves around her meals. I didn't need to know what she was eating every single day, or how it was prepared or who prepared it or how it tasted ... really. Cut out the food descriptions and this book would've been half as long. I get it, Elisa likes food and has a love/hate relationship with it. Am I reading a fantasy story or the food diary of a girl with an eating disorder?

After food, a large amount of the story is spent on Elisa walking from point A to point B. Sometimes with other people, sometimes against her will, sometimes alone. So then all of that walking means fat Elisa becomes skinny Elisa and all of her problems start melting away along with the pounds; people think she can win their war, boys fall in love with her, girls want to be her best friend. And the Godstone in her belly (that she can now see without parting her breasts and moving her stomach fat out of the way - wut) starts to react to danger, helping her elude her enemies. Because God rewards you when you're not fat!

There are also plot holes (and really, not a whole lot of plot to begin with) and at one point a character remarks that they have no idea why the enemy is attacking. The magic is incredibly underdeveloped and mostly relies on praying and hoping something will happen. Generals, guards, and the King all look to Elisa for war counsel when all she had ever done was read this world's version of The Art of War. The first person I'd look to for advice during war would definitely be a 16-year-old girl.

Elisa's hair-brained schemes work because the author wants them to. Everything is conveniently tied up with a neat little bow and there's not a single surprise. In the end, I was so unattached to any of the characters that I barely even blinked when someone died.

Elisa has a magic stone in her belly button, she's good at memorizing stuff, has blind faith in God, and knows the best pastry recipes. Those are her special powers. Elisa is a boring character surrounded by other boring characters living out a boring story with food being a much more developed entity than any of the people or the plot. I will probably not continue with this series. ...more

611 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2011 Dichotomy Girl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2013, 2018, favorites-previous-years, own-kindle-read, 4-and-a-half-to-5-stars, audiobook

Reread to finally finish the series

Original Review 11/20/2013:
Actual rating 4.5 Stars

I was skeptical about reading this book. It had mixed reviews among my goodreads friends and the community at large. So I decided to wait to read this until the entire series was completed. That way, if the subsequent books were worse, I wouldn't need to waste my time.

After finally finishing this myself, all I can think is that found Elisa boring, whining, or unrealistic have never been a fat teenager. I, unfort ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 Jesslyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-sample, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing, cat-ya-fantasy, cat-christian-fantasy, z2012-kindle-reads, cat-series-not-a-cliffhanger, audiobook-whispersync-companion, z2013-kindle-reads

This was a really good book that I am glad I finally picked up. I think the only reason that I haven't picked it up before (despite the great ratings) was because the synopsis is weak---really weak.

Most of the faith-based fantasy that I've read has been a thinly disguised way to deliver a 'god-is-good-and-wants-you-to-do-the-right-thing' message. This was more a story about self-discovery and growth. And Thank You Rae Carson for a unique heroine--at the end of the book, I still wasn't sure if sh ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 29, 2011 Katyana rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

I usually steer clear of things branded YA, but I have to say, I honestly enjoyed this book. Here's the thing: I find the YA label to be pretty deceptive. It is just a too-generic umbrella, and it seems to be slapped on anything with a teen-aged protagonist. Which is too bad, because there are some truly excellent, mature books filed under YA that I would say are ageless. The Hunger Games is a great example. I'd say this book is another.

Elisa is a great heroine - she's well-rounded and has a won I usually steer clear of things branded YA, but I have to say, I honestly enjoyed this book. Here's the thing: I find the YA label to be pretty deceptive. It is just a too-generic umbrella, and it seems to be slapped on anything with a teen-aged protagonist. Which is too bad, because there are some truly excellent, mature books filed under YA that I would say are ageless. The Hunger Games is a great example. I'd say this book is another.

Elisa is a great heroine - she's well-rounded and has a wonderful depth to her character. Watching her grow into her self-confidence and strength, I was truly delighted.

There is also a tremendous depth to the male/female relationships in this book (I put it that way because there is also a lot of depth to several of the female friendships - Elisa and Ximena, Elisa and Cosme). I don't want to give away anything, so I won't really go into a lot of detail. To keep it very simple, there are 3 primary relationships that we watch Elisa navigate, and the author has such a wonderful deft touch as those relationships shape Elisa. (view spoiler) But one minor problem I had: are we actually supposed to like Alejandro? As you can tell from my updates, I never did. I don't know that we were supposed to, though, and it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book - as Elisa grew and matured, (view spoiler)

Anyway. It was a fun, fast read, a great start to a new series, and I will definitely be reading on as the next comes out. ...more

1 like · Like · see review