Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Review: Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell


Nearly a century after 9/11, the world has become security obsessed. A chemical weapon was released in South America and destroyed the Amazon. Now it’s creeping north. The earth is dying, and Kelsa can feel it.

But earth is not the only thing slipping away. Kelsa watches cancer slowly and painfully kill her father, and she’s helpless to do anything to stop it. The night she secretly buries her father’s ashes, a boy appears and starts talking about magic.

Sure that he’s crazy, Kelsa eludes him for days, but soon his reason speaks to her heart more than her mind.

She follows Raven, the handsome shape shifting boy, across North America, trying to heal the damage humans have caused. But is it enough? And not all shape shifters are on their side. With the threat of security breaches and evil shape shifters coming from every side, Kelsa must use all her wits and all of Raven’s magic to survive long enough to heal the world.

**

You know, I haven’t read too many positive reviews about this book, so I was a little determined not to like it. Fortunately for me, Trickster’s Girl proved to be worth my time. I finished it in one day because I was so wrapped up in the story. There were a few times where I literally had to tell myself to calm down because the book was pretty intense.

Kelsa has an amazing determination to right what all of humankind has ruined. Raven has a frustrating resistance to accept humanity. He’s just using them to heal the world. But hey, at least he’s doing the right thing. Right?

I also liked the hint of romance between Kelsa and Raven, even though it never blossoms. I think they both recognize the attraction, but both are sensible enough to realize how ridiculous the idea of a relationship would be.

I’m happy to know that this is only the first in a series, but I’m sad to think this is the end of Kelsa’s part in the Raven journey.

With all the “healing the world” talk, you would think this is a pro-green, tree-hugger type book. But it’s not. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with political views or carbon footprint warnings. 

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1 edition (January 3, 2011)
  • Source: Publisher via Netgalley
  • Amazon
  • Goodreads

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1 comment:

Maggie said...

Sounds like a fun "intense" read! And I liked your smart phone post. I haven't converted yet because even answering a phone call on my husband's phone is enough to stress me out. They're so complicated!