Best of all, it is NOT a book about a wimpy girl waiting for a guy to save her -- or worse, a book about a wimpy girl trying to decide which of two hunky guys she should allow to save her and later reward with sex. (Oh wait. Did I just describe Twilight? Gosh, I think I did. Imagine that.)
Nope. It's a book about a girl becoming a woman and learning to fight her own battles. It's a book about a girl who learns that she can solve problems without waiting for a guy to save her.
Of course, along the way, we have battles, conspiracy, magic, spies, intrigue, and romance. Totally cool. I loved it.
Oh, and the princess starts out fat. I kind of wish she'd stayed fat, just to make the book different from all those books that show that only pretty girls win in the end. (Wouldn't it be nice to see a fat, ordinary looking girl kick some butt and win fame and fortune for a change?) But Carson does have a very interesting blog post on misogyny and women's body image here. It's worth a read, so click on through.
Fortunately for us, Girl of Fire and Thorns has sequels. Unfortunately, the publisher is one of those that believes that stretching the books out over three years is a good thing. (It isn't. People lose interest and/or forget what the earlier books are about. Lots of folks give up on a series rather than go back and re-read the earlier books they've forgotten.)
So now you know a tiny bit about Rae Carson. If you've not yet taken the time to read her debut novel, visit your local bookstore or library and find the thing. It's awesome.
That looks like a great read. I will have to pick that one up.
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