Customer Reviews

Watersmeet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Abisina lives in a repressive community, following the laws/religious codes of Vran, which declare her an outcast. The only reason she wasn't exposed to the elements at birth was her mother's powerful position as the village healer. But another charismatic leader is about to come to power, and his rise is bad news for all the outcasts - human and other.

Events cause Abisina to seek her father, in the far village of Watersmeet. But her journey causes her to face her own prejudices, and realize she's not the only one discriminated against. Ellen Jensen Abbott does a wonderful job of showing how being oppressed and mistreated doesn't stop you from doing the same to others - and that it's hard to learn to do anything else. It's not very subtle and at times I worried some of the metaphors/allegories were too bold, but I think the message is well presented for the age level.

The publisher, Marshall Cavendish, is marketing the book as twelve and up, but I think younger kids will enjoy it to provided they don't mind a little violence. (Nothing that's not in a Disney movie, to be honest.) I know I would've been happy if I found WATERSMEET on the shelves in elementary school.

It's got a lot of the classic fantasy elements - secret parentage, fantastic sentient creatures, a quest, and a climatic battle. But Abbott doesn't make the proceedings route - she imbues the characters with a variety of reasonable backgrounds and desires. It's a tale of cultures clashing as much as it is a fantastic quest, and that needs development of societies and mindsets.

WATERSMEET is a very quick read, at least for someone older. A class was unexpectedly cancelled and I read the entire novel waiting for the next class to begin. (Minus the time ducking into a convenience store to buy some cheese because the opening made me really hungry for it. That's the power of description for you.) I enjoy picking up something that can make me think while maintaining forward momentum.

WATERSMEET is Abbott's first novel, and it's an excellent start to her writing career. (The way it ends makes me hope that there will be a sequel. Things tie up, but there's certainly room to explore more of the world.)

W-A-T-E-R-S-M-E-E-T. The word easily rolls off my tongue. The cover with the picture of the girl caught my attention first. She has the look of a scared, caged animal. I want to know what Watersmeet is. As I usually do with fantasy books, I dove into this book with gusto. Any book that can keep me interested from beginning to end and not drag is a good thing.....

First time novelist Ellen Jensen Abbott has impressed me with her book, WATERSMEET.

There are many forms of prejudice in Vranille. Every day it is a fight for survival for Abisina. Shunned constantly and roughly pushed aside by others, Abisina is an outcast just because of how she looks. The worst thing about being an outcast is the all-consuming loneliness she felt on an everyday basis. There's always a fight for food and no one, unless they were an outcast themselves, is allowed to talk to her.

The only thing that kept her alive was her mother, who was the village healer. Things are about to go from bad to worse for Abisina. Someone other than her mother is about to come into power, meaning bad news for all outcasts.

Forced to flee, she heads to Watersmeet for help in the form of her father, a man she has never known. Along the way, she sees fauns, has a run-in with centaurs, eats a poisonous mushroom to save herself, faces minataurs, and has the courage to continue on.

Will Watersmeet be her salvation or her downfall?

The teacher in me came out as I was reading this book - you can easily make comparisons between this fantasy world and the real world we live in. How many times have people in this world faced prejudice, violence, and oppression, all because they were different than the ideal that society has imposed? Remember the Holocaust and Hitler? I saw many similarities between Charach and Hitler. Both were very charismatic leaders and no one saw the evil side of them until it was too late. You can do a lot of interesting activities in the classroom with this book.

Abisina changes a lot in the course of this story. There were many challenges she faced that brought upon these changes. First and foremost, and probably the most important, is that she had to look at the prejudices in herself. Once that was done, she became more forgiving, accepting, and tolerant. This, of course, is crucial if she wants to continue the legacy of Vigor.

Does that mean we will see more of Abisina in the future? I certainly hope so.

Reviewed by: coollibrarianchick

Watersmeet was a fascinating and truly impressive debut novel. Abbott's writing style is very easy to read. The fantasy world that is created contains many mythical creatures- fairies, trolls, dwarfs, fauns, and centuars, but at the same time it deals with the same issues we face in today's society- discrimination, prejudice, tolerance and acceptance.

The main character Abisina deals with many of those issues throughout the novel. Abisina is a terribly flawed character, but I think that is what makes her so believable. While I didn't always agree with her, I enjoyed seeing her personal growth within the novel.

Plot wise, there was some unexpected twists that I didn't even see coming. The story was revealed at a steady pace, and there were never moments where I felt like it was dragging. I did developed a few issues about three quarters of the way through the novel, but luckily those issues were addressed in a satisfying manner. The ending was a little disappointing for me, I definitely preferred the epilogue.

Overall, a great read for fantasy fans.

Full commentary posted on my blog: [...]

This book has so much potential, and I can't wait to see my students enjoy it. The cover alone created a lot of buzz. The picture on the front quickly sparked my students' curiosity - they all wanted to know what the book was about.

Watersmeet set up an experience where I had to be an active reader throughout because new layers were constantly being revealed alongside building action. Just when one danger was resolved, a new one arose. Because it is a fantasy, there was always the element that anything could happen to main character Abisina and the many people and creatures that she encounters.

Watersmeet is an excellently written book, both gripping and readable. I read it to review as a gift for a teen, and I found it to be a page-turner. I was impressed with the characters, the imagination, and the rich descriptions and imagery.

Abisina is an outcast in her society, but she has courage and wits, and the adventures she experiences build her character. The relationship she develops with a dwarf, Haret and his Mother is extremely well done, and it is a good lesson. There is also much in the novel that points towards the love of landscape and nature, a worthwhile emphasis.

The novel is captivating, and I found it a surprisingly strong first novel for Ellen Abbott.

I would highly recommend this book for a teen.

Abisina lives out a miserable existence in Vranille,her village.Her copper skin and black hair have marked her as an outcast,because she does not fit the blond,blue-eyed Paragon of Beauty of her people,the Vranites.The Vranites hate anything that is different from them,including the dwarves,centaurs,and fauns that also inhabit the land.Although the fact that her mother Sina is the village healer gives her some protection,Abisina is still treated horribly.Then one day Sina tells Abisina about her father,who lives in a place where there are no outcasts,a place where he is the leader,a place called Watersmeet...
Sina promises her daughter that they will flee to Watersmeet as soon as possible,but during one of the Vranites' celebrations a mysterious man called Charach appears.He whips the villagers into a frenzy of hatred and causes them to turn on the outcasts.Abisina manages to escape,but her mother perishes in the bloodshed.Now,with only the necklace that her father gave Sina long ago,the cryptic directions to Watersmeet that her mother told her before she died,and the reluctant help of a dwarf she is not sure she can trust,Abisina must try to find Watersmeet and warn its inhabitants about Charach before it is too late.
Watersmeet is definitly a cut above most of today's fantasy,which is filled with meaningless violence,predictable plots,cheap sex,and spineless heroines.Abisina is strong and intelligent,but she has enough flaws to be relatable and interesting.Her companion Haret the dwarf is also very real,with strengths and weaknesses of his own.The descriptions are evocative without bogging down the narrative,and the plot is fantastic.Mrs.Abbot manages to get across the message of unity and respecting one another's differences without being preachy,and the story is very fast-paced.And although the ending is satisfactory,the authors seems to have left just enough room for a sequal...

I do not normally enjoy fantasy, but Watersmeet was a great read. I couldn't put it down. I hope there is a sequel. I don't want to spoil the surprises in the plot by going into detail here, but you will be gripped by this story. Highly recommended.

There are really good summaries in the other reviews so I'll cut to the reason I think so many people will enjoy this book.

Quite often fantasy novels are so intricate that young readers have a hard time following the plot and unusual characters. This book grabs you with it's haunting cover and beautiful title. I think anyone 10-15 will really enjoy the book. Though the protagonist is a teenage girl, boys will be intersted in the fast action of the escape and battle sequences. Advanced and older readers might like a quick read with an engaging and thought provoking plot.

Believeable fantasy for young people although I am 70+ and found it a real page-turner. I can hardly wait for the continuing saga.

I enjoyed Watersmeet even though I didn't think I would. It's a pretty straightforward, simple fantasy book, yet I enjoyed it for the most part. Abisina is treated horribly in her village for her hair and skin color. The people of the village are religious fanatics that live meager lives, and are more than ready to kill some innocent children. The jacket coves this information, but doesn't tell us too much more. What entails is an interesting journey with unlikely companions. I enjoyed the traveling sections of this book, which is strange, because that usually bores me. I started to get a little bored towards the end because I felt that the book would come to a predictable conclusion. Also, I'm not really a fan of preparing for war, so those sections were tedious for me, but everything else was pretty good. I didn't think the story was too original or thought provoking, but it was enjoyable and is definitely worth reading.