The Girl of Fire and Thorns [Paperback]

Rae Carson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 21, 2012 | Series: Girl of Fire and Thorns

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be 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 save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“With The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Carson joins the ranks of writers like Kristin Cashore, Megan Whalen Turner, and Tamora Pierce as one of YA’s best writers of high fantasy.” (Locus )

“Intoxicating . . . Readers will find themselves immersed in this world and believing it.” (Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) )

“Elisa is a wonderful, believable hero, the kind that every reader can imagine as herself. I charged through the book in two days, savoring Elisa’s realness and her unique, wonderful world! Engrossing.” (Tamora Pierce, author of New York Times bestseller Bloodhound )

“I stayed up until 2AM reading this last night. Intense, unique. . . . Definitely recommended.” (Veronica Roth, author of the best-selling Divergent )

“I LOVED this book! It’s a transformation story that both teens and adults can believe in. Rae Carson has delivered a unique magical system and built a world with strong series potential.” (Cinda Williams Chima, author of best-selling The Exiled Queen )

“Rae Carson’s heroine is a perfect blend of the ordinary and the extraordinary. I loved her.” (Megan Whalen Turner, author of the Newbery Honor Book, THE THIEF )

“Set in intrigue-filled courts, battlefields, and windswept deserts, this riveting fantasy tests its heroine’s limits as she struggles to fulfill a destiny wrapped in an ancient mystery. A breathtaking adventure in a fascinating, richly-drawn world.” (Leah Cypess, author of Mistwood )

“A delicious debut.” (Paolo Bacigalupi, Printz Award-winning author of Ship Breaker )

“Distinctive for its luminous prose, its hint of romance, and Elisa, a strong, smart heroine that readers will truly fall in love with.” (Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief )

About the Author

Rae Carson is the author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers. Locus, the premier magazine for science fiction and fantasy, proclaimed, "Carson joins the ranks of writers like Kristin Cashore, Megan Whalen Turner, and Tamora Pierce as one of YA's best writers of high fantasy." The Girl of Fire and Thorns was a finalist for the Morris YA Debut Award, and one of ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. Rae Carson has dabbled in many things, from teaching to corporate sales to customer service, before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio. You can follow her on Twitter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (August 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780062026507
• ISBN-13: 978-0062026507
• ASIN: 006202650X
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (343 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rae Carson was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for Fall 2011. Her first novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was a finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards, and was named to ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list. The sequel, The Crown of Embers, will be released in September 2012.

Rae lives in Ohio with her husband, novelist C.C. Finlay, two stepsons, and two very naughty kitties.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 114 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique fantasy, strong girl character October 1, 2011

By Alison

Format:Hardcover

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is an unusual book. A book where the main character does a complete 180 throughout the course of the plot, in looks and personality. A book that emphasizes the characters' faith in a way that fits seemlessly with the plot and is never preachy. A book that starts out weak and grows stronger and stronger. A book that incorporates Spanish language, culture, food, architecture, and more. A book where romance is present but not nearly as important as the protagonist. A book with major plot twists.

Elisa is one of the best fantasy characters I've read in a long time. She starts out this novel at a low place. She's fat, lonely, and undervalued. At least she thinks she's these things. Elisa was born with a great gift: the godstone - a stone embedded in her navel - only one person receives this gift each century and each is endowed with some great, unknown duty. For a girl who holds a position even higher than the princess she was born as, she sure is underappreciated. No one thinks anything of Elisa. Even her beloved nanny coddles and overprotects her. Her family is tough on her. Her new husband is embarrassed by her. Elisa's only friend is food. While it's difficult to see a nice, smart girl constantly berate herself and use food as a form of comfort, the author did a fabulous job of making Elisa relatable. I cared about her and understood why she felt so horribly about herself.

All this changes when Elisa is kidnapped. In fact, the entire book changes. It goes from being a slow, somewhat depressing novel, to being a action-packed, girl-power thriller. Elisa undergoes tremendous physical and mental change as she walks through the desert for days with her captors.... And as she learns more about the world around her - the world that was hidden from her during her sheltered childhood - her idea of who's right and who's wrong begins to change. Elisa is ready to fight and to assume her birthright of the godstone bearer. And fight she does. Don't underestimate Elisa.

There's a great cast of side characters. I loved Elisa's nanny Ximena. One of the few people from Elisa's childhood who truly cares for her. And she's no Mary Poppins. I loved the complexity of Ximena's fighting skills as well as what Ximena hid from Elisa. Elisa's kidnappers are also an interesting lot. They start out as enemies and slowly turn into friends. Each had their own personality and relationship to Elisa. I especially loved Humberto. Sweetest guy and so perfect for Elisa! It added a nice element of romance to this story. Even Elisa's sister, who spends much of her time degrading Elisa, serves a valuable role for Elisa as she grows stronger.

The culture and world-building of the godstone was well done. My main problem with this book was the idea of the "chosen one" having a gemstone in her belly button. *Snicker snicker* I am apparently not mature enough to get entirely beyond that. But otherwise, I loved how the author took the framework of a familiar religion and imbued it with an entirely different mythology. By the end of the book, I felt familiar with the various kingdoms, politics, and long-standing wars. The reader is in the dark for the first third of the novel about most of the book's religion, culture, and history - but so is Elisa. We learn alongside her.

Girl of Fire and Thorns ends on a strong note. I will say that there is a shocking *shocking* twist near the end. I admire the author for taking that route. The story has a logical conclusion - no big cliff-hanger - but leaves plenty of plot options open for future novels. Elisa finishes the book at the top. She is confident, brave, and ready for more. I can't wait to see where she goes next.

Rating: 4 / 5 Read more ›

169 of 191 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars too much religion for me November 18, 2011

By Madame X TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

We all have tastes. Personally, I tend not to like fiction that has religious faith as a major theme. It's not my thing. For the first half of THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS, I thought I was reading a book that would turn out to be an exception to the rule. Mostly because Elisa is such a winning heroine; she's clever and pragmatic but also sweet and naďve; she's timid but brave; content to be overlooked but desperate for acknowledgment. She's a mess of contradictions but she felt real and I rooted for her.

At first, I thought I'd be reading a sort of reverse fairy tale: it starts off, after all, with Elisa getting married to a handsome, charming King, Alejandro. He's nice to her, if not eager, and I thought the book would take us on adventures that had Elisa earning her spot at his side.

Instead, Alejandro turns out to be pretty pathetic. He's cowardly, indecisive, and content to remain wrapped around the finger of his mistress. I liked him less and less as the book went on - and my feelings only mirrored Elisa's.

That leaves us with the tale of Elisa's trial by fire after she's kidnapped and force-marched through the desert to meet a small band of rebel fighters who expect her to save them from the invaders to the north. And while it was great to follow Elisa's evolution as a character, the religious themes got more and more prominent.

The religion in this world isn't Christian but it's definitely Christian-esque, with self-sacrifice as a major theme. I hadn't expected it to feel so much like contemporary Christian fiction, but it did. Elisa has a "Godstone" in her belly button that singles her out for a special purpose, a "service" that she'll be called to perform.... Every twist in the plot gives her a new opportunity to reflect on what it means to serve God and put her faith first. And naturally, the climax of the book arrives with her purpose, and naturally - no spoilers, this is inherent in the idea of the Godstone - achieving her purpose is tied to her experience of faith.

Rae Carson makes some other plot choices which just generally turned me off from the book, but which are too spoilery to discuss. Basically, she forgets about all the fun stuff to focus on faith. By the end I had stopped thinking that THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS might be an exception to my rule about faith-centric books and started thinking of it as a prime example of why my tastes lie elsewhere. Read more ›

71 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Female in Fantasy August 24, 2011

By Alexandra Cenni VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Going into the book (which I read an ARC version) I had completely forgotten what it was about. It was on my list of 'Must Read Immediately Upon Getting' books and I had made a notation about 'fantasy' next to it, but otherwise I had forgotten. Something pushed at me to pick it though and thus did I spend an entire Friday night (after my show) reading this glorious, wonderful and otherwise fantastic novel.

It would honestly be hard for me to categorize this as a 'young adult'. If this had been written in the 90's then it may very well have been shelved with the mainstream fantasy books despite the narrator, Elisa's, age of 16. Carson questions the nature of love (familial, first love and enduring love), religion (faith, doubt, belief) and duty (to one's self, to one's country) without holding anything back. Elisa learns some very hard lessons in a relatively short amount of time and realizes some hard truths.

Elisa, in short, is my hero. Not because she saves the day. Not because she's clever and quick-witted and brave. Not just because of those things at least. Elisa is my hero, and would have been my role model for life as a teen, because she doesn't judge herself. She doubts why she was Chosen. She looks back at the way she was in her home kingdom with horror, but she doesn't ever say 'I'm a useless person'. Whenever she uses the words 'useless' and 'fat' she is repeating what others have said behind her back (or in at least one case, to her face).

She is self-conscious, she envies other women for their slim forms or graceful bearing, but she doesn't deride herself for not being that way. She is strong, just as many of the characters say she is, but she shows that strength in subtle ways.... Standing up and remaining firm with the young Prince, keeping her calm when faced with a duplicitous lady of the court, keeping her wits when confronted with a terrifying enemy. Elisa's development is spurned onwards at first by her need to be useful to her husband, but it doesn't take her long to realize that she should change to be better for herself.

I admit I didn't like her husband, I didn't trust him or his motivations. I didn't think he was a bad man, but the way he was using Elisa just made me frown. I felt bad for Elisa though, wanted more for her, but at the same time I wanted to scream that not everything has to be about him.

Carson gives us quite a cast of characters to be entertained by. I was quite fond of some of them, though I suppose I didn't quite trust any of them? Even her old Nurse, who obviously wants to protect Elisa from everything and everyone, made me wary. Elisa was the pawn in a very powerful game, several powerful games in fact, and until she realizes her own power it was disheartening how easily she was manipulated or misled. How eager she was to believe certain fallacies because she was so desperately lonely and unfulfilled.

There are several times when Carson tempers the cleverness that Elisa shows with hard truths. Consequences for her decisions and actions, especially as we grew closer to the end, proved themselves to Elisa and I applauded her for being able to...move past them and regroup quickly. Even before she came into herself Elisa didn't just wallow, not when there was something else she could be doing. She had her moments, but then she was is still young, thrust into a terrible War that no one cared to explain to her.

While the ending lends itself well to being self-contained, there are two more books and the acknowledgement that more adventures await Elisa in the closing. An important plot focal point remains unanswered and to be truthful I want to see what the new Elisa can do with her strength and new found purpose. Read more ›