Kelsey
Fantasy book Review:
“An Ember in the Ashes”
“An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir is
a book written around the lives of two people with very different stations within
their society. The two characters are Laia and Elias. Laia was a young girl in
a society where she had very little control over the outcome of her life. She
saw herself as being weak and fearful, but all of this changes when her brother
is arrested and she decides to do anything in her power to save him. Laia
begins an adventure where she puts herself into the face of extreme danger in
an effort to save her brother. Through this journey her path crosses with the
character Elias, who has much more power than she does. He is one of the four
contenders who will be competing for the role of emperor. The reader quickly
discovers that Elias also feels trapped in the life he is living and wishes
with all of his being to escape the ruthless environment he lives in. Through a
swirling plot line of deceit, pain, and compassion the characters learn about
themselves and how to achieve what they desire most.
This plot line was very relatable in
the feelings that young people would have as they feel their world changing
around them. This is a story that is not meant to be a love story where
everything works out in the end. By doing this Tahir made this book seem much
more genuine for people to connect with it. Through the reading I felt myself
becoming attached to both characters and routing for them as they faced trials
in the story. It is interesting how a fantasy story felt so real and had my
emotions on a string. The author was very strong in her ability to leave you
wanting more after each chapter. Her ability to go back and forth between the
two characters also kept the reader wanting more. “The field of battle is my
temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The
killing blow is my release.” This mantra was repeated time and time again in
the story. I found that the author used a great deal of skill in wording this
so it would apply to many scenarios in the story. The character who uses this
mantra, Elias, uses it for very different reasons throughout the story. There
are also at least four chapters in the story that leave you believing that a
character has died who is integral to the plot line. You are left at the end of
the chapter with this belief, but until the next chapter with that character you
can not be sure if this is really the case. I would recommend this book to
older high schoolers because there is a lot of violence and a very nonchalant
attitude towards rape within this society. I would not want younger children to
read this book.
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