on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4/5
Pages: 384
Started: 2 February 2024
Finished: 14 February 2024
Summary:
Tress is a very sensible girl. For example, it makes perfect sense for her to not venture off her island into the Emerald Sea where a single drop of water will cause the Emerald spores to sprout very deadly vines. But when her childhood best friend and first love Charlie is exiled to the Sorceress's tower for refusing to marry some vapid overseas princess, Tress realizes that the only sensible option is to sneak aboard a ship to go rescue him. Though she's not wrong, that doesn't change the fact that there are several spore-infested seas between her and the sorceress's island, not to mention the issue of the sorceress herself. But sometimes the universe, in all its random glory, is kind. And sometimes the right people with the right magic at the right time can manage some incredible things.
Thoughts:
This was a lovely book. It was a fairytale that both adhered to all the fairytale tropes and conventions, and also subverted them. Person kidnapped by evil sorceress needing to be rescued, talking rat, pirate ship, etc. But the girl as the rescuer, a genuinely sensible protagonist, a really clever and complex magic system, and a double moral involving both romance and friendship added layers to the story that made it much more fun to read. Tress was a very likable protagonist; I loved her pragmatism and wit, and how she was a brave hero without any Chosen One tropes in sight. The other characters were also really fun to read, especially Hoid, and they were an excellent background for some frankly excellent philosophizing, like a YA version of the narration in Good Omens. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be reading some more Sanderson in the future.