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Have you ever had a very depressing or stressed day and someone just said something nice word to you, or even just smiled at you and it just turned your whole day around? As the Japanese saying goes, "one kind word can warm three winter months." If you can't do great things, do small things in a great way. Sometimes, doing the smallest thing like saying hello, giving a complement, a hug can make a big difference.

The most important habit of all in this book is being proactive, which means taking responsibility for you own life. Most of the times, when something bad happens to us, we think of ways to blame others. But we never look at ourselves and realize that we're just waiting for something to happen. We sometimes don't realize that we could act upon the problem and think of solutions, but instead worry and get frustrated.

A theme that came up to my mind while reading this book is, greater power comes greater responsibility. Ledge has a crazy and powerful savvy. A savvy is a power you have starting on your 13th birthday. Ledge can break and destroy anything, but it's terribly hard for him to control his savvy rather than letting his savvy control him. So, he has to learn how to use his savvy when it's helpful, and not harmful.

I found online that Iqbal Masih was and real person. He was sold to slavery when he was 4 years old in Pakistan's carpet industry. He toiled 12 hours a day, for 6 years. As he turned ten, he managed to escape with help of the bonded labor liberation front and began an activist against child labor. Because of him, thousands of children were saved from labor. Sadly, he was shot and passed away in 1995 when he was 12.

The Gave Noir, a ritual feast of poison, performed by poisoner queens almost every high festival reminds me of the different traditional ceremonies in all around the world. For example, in Egypt, when people like kings die, people removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay.

I really like how the author is really imaginative and creative in her writing through the characters in the book. I can also connect this to the kids who are going to turn 13, a teenager. The struggles and emotional elements of growing up. And through these struggles on the way, sometimes that's how you learn.

The character in my book Seth, reminds me of a quote, "Stop waiting for the 'right time'. Success is a numbers game: the number of times you take shot." Seth is a very courageous, and brave boy. He is not scared of taking risks. He doesn't wait or hold back his urge to do things, he just goes for it. Even though he gets in trouble a lot because of his curiosity, he sometimes is the one who saves the day.

In the book, Seth, Kendra, their grandparents, want borrow a horn that the centaurs own in Grunhold. Seth however, was not allowed to go. I am actually relieved that he didn't go because in the last book, Seth insulted Broadhoof, and challenged him in a battle, which was a foolish thing to do because centaurs would win. Patton, who the centaurs respected fought and won the battle, which led humiliation to them.

This book reminds me of another book in the same series I read before. When the characters Kendra and Seth in both books got kidnapped or was forced into doing something dangerous. But they were both clever, they did not scream or show that they were scared. They tried to lie to get out of the trap and get help.