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| Greenwillow Books |
by Rae Carson
5 Stars
Lady Elisa is special. She is the bearer of the Godstone, a
stone placed in her navel by God which marks her as someone who will perform an
important act of service during her lifetime. Elisa loves God and studies
constantly to know God’s will for her life. But she has been sheltered, and
there are things she doesn’t know about the Godstone. There are enemies that
would happily kill her to harness its power, and Lady Elisa is in danger. Now, married
to the handsome King Alejandro of Joya d’Arena as the seal to a bargain that
will provide troops against the enemies of both countries, Elisa wonders, when
will her act of service occur, and will she, like most Godstone bearers, die young?
Before I go on and on about how pleased I am to find a
tough, independent, resilient, and overweight protagonist who is also a princess, let me first give an
enthusiastic shout out to the author of this phenomenal novel; hello and thank
you, Rae Carson (OH-IO)! I feel certain that Ms. Carson is going to be one of
those YA novelists from the great state of Ohio who stands arm and arm with
other gifted YA writers from this state—Cinda Williams Chima, Margaret Peterson
Haddix, Sharon Creech, Angela Johnson, Sharon Draper to name a few—all of whom
make me proud to be a Buckeye.
First, let me say that while the synopsis of this book
(above) makes it sound like a religious book, I would argue that the religious
overtones do not at all come off as overly didactic. In fact, when religion is
referenced at all, it comes off as highly generic in nature; faith becomes the
greater theme that Lady Elisa deals with. Lady Elisa’s character seems
naturally concerned with faith, it suits her—especially at the start of the
story when she is married off to a handsome stranger who doesn’t really desire
her at all, and she is taken to a strange country. Faith is all she has. Will
King Alejandro ever desire her? After all she is very, very fat. Like many of us, when Elisa becomes
stressed out, concerned, or simply bored, she eats—and because of this, she is
a fat bride. Thus, her self-confidence suffers, at least at first, but her
faith and intelligence trump her insecurities and help to make her a formidable
future queen against her enemy—the neighboring country Invierne. The dynamic
changes Elisa goes through during the action in this novel (and the action and
conflict between Joya d’Arena & Invierne is the primary focus of the work)
make her perhaps my most favorite female protagonist ever!
The secondary characters in the novel are equally
interesting. It’s not hard to see early on that the handsome King Alejandro,
who Elisa worries over in the start of the novel is a flake. He is spineless
and cannot take a stand, even when it comes to acknowledging his own marriage.
Indecisive, adulterous, cowardly, and inexperienced, Alejandro cannot hold a
candle to Elisa. Equally as interesting,
but not nearly as spineless, are Elisa’s devoted nurse, Ximena, who clearly has
a secret past, and the spiteful Cosmé, the handmaiden to her husband’s mistress
who seems hell-bent on Elisa’s destruction. But perhaps the most endearing character
is Humberto—a humble desert boy who treats Elisa with love and honor, whether
she is obese or thin. Who doesn’t love a guy like that?
The writing in the novel is incredibly strong. Unlike many
other YA novels that include such disturbing plot twists as arranged marriage,
espionage, and war, as this novel does, sensitive situations are dealt with tactfully,
and there are absolutely no sexually explicit scenes. The author uses Spanish (or perhaps Italian?)
words to add an exotic feel to the narrative, and this, coupled with the
fantastic descriptions of deserts and sandstorms made this Ohio native feel
like I’ve traveled to lands far away. Each chapter was short and punctuated with
enough action and intrigue to keep me on the edge of my seat.
Happily and in her own words, “God is not done with [Elisa]
yet”—book two, Crown of Embers is
already on the shelves, and I’ve just ordered my copy.
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