Synopsis:

Sefia has spent her entire life in secrecy; trusting no one, always moving and watching over her shoulder, (just like her parents taught her).
After her father was brutally murdered, Sefia is orphaned, and left with her one surviving relative, aunt Nin. For a time, they live hidden in the forest; hunting, and stealing what they can, to survive. But when aunt Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is left to fend for herself. She is alone, in a wild and ruthless world.
She has only one possession still valuable and dear to her; a strange square object, which she carries with her everywhere.
Setting off on a solo mission to rescue Nin, Sefia finds an unexpected ally, and together they journey through the vicious world, followed by unseen foes, and encountering a group of rugged, swashbuckling pirates.

In this wild and ruthless world where reading and writing, do not exist, Sefia realizes that there’s more to the object than she first thought. Slowly, she begins to uncover some of the mystery shrouding it, but most importantly, she learns to read.

[*Spoiler alert*, the ‘object’ is a book. (Don’t worry, it’s not really a spoiler)]

Thoughts:

I rate this 4/5 stars

The unique-ness of this story was something I had never really experienced before. It had so many different aspects, and twists throughout.  Not to mention, that the actual pages themselves were my favorite part. Ink splotches, and markings really brought the book to life, and made the reading experience fun.                                                                                           I find it a bit hard to describe; as my initial idea about the setting, ended up being quite different from what it was at the end.
It’s an adventure, pirate novel, with some fantasy thrown into the mix.

The way the book was written, was somewhat confusing at first. Every now and then the perspective would switch between characters, to an alternate story, or time period, leaving me unsure of who, or when the chapter was written.
But, by keeping mental notes, the pieces eventually began to fit together.

I had only a couple of issues with the book; one of them being how easily Sefia learned to read.  She’d never really seen words, or actual books, yet by looking at it long enough it all just came to her… and then she could read and write!  (Just like ‘that’ *snaps fingers*.) I found that unrealistic, and hard to believe, but I played along to keep the story moving; trying hard not to dwell on those “minor” details.
The other thing isn’t so much a problem, as it is a critique. Sefia is a great character, yet we didn’t get to see enough of her. I’m sure that was in part, due to the fact that this is the first book in a series. Therefore, a lot of world building, and setting up of events went into this book and there wasn’t a lot of room for character development.
In all, this was a solid starter, and I’m optimistic about the next book, The Speaker.

P.S. As a tip, I would suggest keeping paper and pencil nearby while reading, for any notes or messages that you may find along the way.

And remember, look closer, and then closer. (more…)