General Winston's Daughter [Hardcover]

Sharon Shinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2007

When seventeen-year-old heiress Averie Winston travels with her guardian to faraway Chiarrin, she looks forward to a reunion with her father, who is a commanding general, seeing her handsome fiancé Morgan once more, and exploring the strange new country. What she finds is entirely different. Although the Chiarizzi appear to tolerate the invading army, rebels have already tried to destroy them; Morgan is not the man she thought he was; and she finds herself falling in love with Lieutenant Ket Du’kai, who himself comes from a conquered society. Can the irrepressible Averie remake herself in this new world? Sharon Shinn’s newest romance has an epic sweep, piquant humor, social commentary, and love to spare—just the thing when you want to lose yourself in another world.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Averie is thrilled to visit Chiarrin, a colonized land her father oversees as general of the Aebrian military. As the foreign rhythms of her new life sweep her along, the general's daughter begins to question the ethics and wisdom of colonial governance, depicted as a rough parallel to British rule during empire days. She delves into the culture, strains against the fussy restraints of her era and social class, and finds herself drawn to an officer of non-Aerbrian descent. But it is an interesting young woman from the marketplace, Jalessa, who truly opens a window into Chiarrizi culture. As political resistance begins to threaten colonial rule, security becomes tighter, tensions rise, and the plot culminates in some rather shocking events. But Shinn, an author who smoothly crosses back and forth between adult and YA fantasy audiences, skillfully shepherds her tale to a satisfying, believable conclusion. This thoughtful romance with political overtones will prove irresistible to many readers. O'Malley, Anne

Review

A powerful story, entertaining and satisfying on many levels. -- KLIATT

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; First Edition edition (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670062480
• ISBN-13: 978-0670062485
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Shinn is a journalist who works for a trade magazine. Her first novel, The Shapechanger's Wife, was selected by Locus as the best first fantasy novel of 1995. She has won the William C. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to While Away an Afternoon, October 18, 2007

By 

L. Loyd (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: General Winston's Daughter (Hardcover)

I quite enjoyed this YA novel by Sharon Shinn, though I kept feeling like it was a cross between Robin McKinley's "The Blue Sword" with its premise of a young girl going to live in a colonized country and her interactions with the natives, and Shinn's own "Summers at Castle Auburn." That said, she put a different (and charming) spin on the tale and a twist at the end that makes this story a change from both of those. I really enjoy Ms. Shinn's books because the worlds that she creates are so well-fleshed out and this is no exception--her characters are very believable, even when their actions shock and dismay the reader. As usual, she crafted a story very well and peopled it with interesting characters and situations. How could you not be drawn in?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light, but enjoyable, November 25, 2007

By 

Nicole (Englewood, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: General Winston's Daughter (Hardcover)

I was so excited to read this book, and although I enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to what I have come to expect from Sharon Shinn. The main character, Averie Winston, grew throughout the book from a mostly shallow girl to a more thoughtful, but still passionate, young woman. Her transformation was interesting to watch, but it seemed pretty obvious to me how that growth would play out. Some of the supporting characters were drawn with pretty broad strokes and never really ended up having distinct personalities. The ending was telegraphed pretty much from the get go, but I liked the subtle way that Shinn used symbols and colors to enhance her storytelling. I liked this book though, and will definitely recommend it to my YA patrons.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip This One, December 4, 2007

By 

Cat (ND USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: General Winston's Daughter (Hardcover)

I had great hopes for this novel, but was sadly disappointed. General Winston's Daughter did not live up to my expectations, and doesn't have the depth and detailed characterization of Shinn's other novels. I loved her Samaria and Thirteen Houses series and thought this would be along similar lines, but it wasn't. The main character Averie Winston, is extremely naive and at times just down right stupid. I understand she's just turned eighteen and has been gently raised in a noble family, but still...I find that no excuse for some of her thoughtless and stupid decisions that ultimately resulted in complete and total disaster. I rather thought she should have been more politically astute having been raised in and around politics and as the daughter of a general. I just cannot get over how stupid she was, and the author's excuse for this, that she was "young and passionate", just didn't work for me. I couldn't relate to Averie at all and that was a real turn off.
Also, by the end of the first chapter I knew exactly where this novel was going and the plot was no surprise. What WAS a surprise (after reading Shinn's other series) was the fact that her characters in this novel were pretty much two-dimensional with not a lot of depth. The lack of characterization combined with the heroine's thoughtless stupidity just completely ruined this book for me. For other fans of Shinn, I recommend skipping this novel or you'll find yourself disappointed as I was.