Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past released that we're dying to get our hands on...
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Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Release Date: September 20th, 2011
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
My Stance:
The Girl of Fire and Thorns sounds promising. It crossed one of my recommendation lists not too long ago on Goodreads and I was just looking around at different type of books. This one sounds amazing, the whole dilemma of trying to find yourself in unusual and unnatural circumstances. Then when Elisa is thrown into a world where she's expected to be something she isn't, there is only two choices; to run away or to be the pillar everyone believes she is.
On another not, that has been done over and over before. The whole "I'm not remarkable, nor memorable, but if I have to be for everyone else, I will." is a bit overdone. However, here there is something new about being pursued and hunted that drives a new angle on this plot. As well, the expectations and pressure placed on Elisa seem to embolden her and make her stronger. I hope in this book's case I am right, and that sometime I'll get enough time to sit down with it.
On another not, that has been done over and over before. The whole "I'm not remarkable, nor memorable, but if I have to be for everyone else, I will." is a bit overdone. However, here there is something new about being pursued and hunted that drives a new angle on this plot. As well, the expectations and pressure placed on Elisa seem to embolden her and make her stronger. I hope in this book's case I am right, and that sometime I'll get enough time to sit down with it.
Title: Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date:January 5th, 2010
Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.
Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.
Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.
My Stance:
This is a different book compared to what I normally read. However, Courtney Summers caught my eye with This is Not a Test and how well it was done, that I have been looking to her other books and trying to see if they are just as fantastic. Here there is a drama and a sort of High School environment some or most of everyone is familiar with. I can't say that I was ever really bullied at School; they all tried I guess, but it didn't bother me and they more or less tended to leave me alone. So I always wondered (on a personal level) what it would like to be "at the top of the pyramid" and to fall to the bottom one day.
This book seems to address that general curiosity and how one would go about dealing with it. And just what it means to deal with those bullies and types of people that seemed to have all the "power" and no sense for what they are doing to other people. Regina's fall and the story and her outlet away from all the abuse and bullying seem unique and original. I just hope, again, that's the case. With Courtney though, I have a feeling this book will be worth it, and it's been on my list since I finished This is Not a Test.
This book seems to address that general curiosity and how one would go about dealing with it. And just what it means to deal with those bullies and types of people that seemed to have all the "power" and no sense for what they are doing to other people. Regina's fall and the story and her outlet away from all the abuse and bullying seem unique and original. I just hope, again, that's the case. With Courtney though, I have a feeling this book will be worth it, and it's been on my list since I finished This is Not a Test.
