While I was without internet because of a few earthquakes and a sudden house move, I had a chance to read, which wasn't a bad thing. I had been wanting to read Karen Healey's Guardian of the Dead after Juliet Marillier spoke highly of it at the New Zealand NatCon. Juliet had also mentioned that the book ended with a rather large New Zealand earthquake, so that seemed appropriate (and made me a little afraid of Karen's foresight).Karen Healey is from New Zealand but now lives in Australia, as many Kiwi writers seem to end up doing.
There are many other reasons I wanted to read this book.
It is YA, and I love YA.
I love the cover (the hardback one is cool too)
It is mostly set in Christchurch, where I live, and what's more fun than reading about your hometown haunts in a book?
I'm working on a YA fantasy novel, and I'd want to be aware of what my peers have put (and are putting) out there.
Karen did not disappoint. As I've said above, I read it one day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Things I particularly liked were;
The Maori mythology twined throughout the book.
The strong female protagonist (This is not your daughter's Bella!).
A lead male, asexual character (What? A man who is interesting without being a romantic interest?) Yeah!
A strong female protagonist who isn't petite, blond, or model-beautiful, and yet, she is still worthy of romantic love.
My absolute favorite part of the book was the section where Ellie, the MC, is stuck in a car with a guy who won't take no for an answer. She ditches him and heads home on foot, only to be accosted by a carload of other meat-heads intent on doing her harm. She manages to cause them enough pain to escape into a wooded area where she is immediately attacked by the antagonist of the book, a Maori fairy queen. Talk about out the frying pan, into the fire. Through it all, the MC shows great courage and an amazing lack of a "default toward victimhood." And afterward, when she feels a moment of self-doubt about her initial decision to escape the guy in the car, her male best friend supports her right to say no to a guy and still be safe.
Now, as much as I loved this book, there were two things I didn't like, and what would an honest review be without mentioning them?
First, the MC Ellie has some training in martial arts. That's cool, and fine by me. Karen does a good job keeping that skill set realistic. It is also fine by me when Ellie uses that skill to defend herself against people trying to harm her. However, when Ellie actually beats one of the main lead male characters bloody (her love interest, in fact) simply because he won't tell her something she wants to know, it really bothered me. To top it off, we find out the poor guy can't tell her because he's been bespelled not to.
Here's my thing. I don't believe it is okay for males to beat females. In fact, I think any male that beats a female should go to jail. And I think any female that is beaten by a male should call the police, have him arrested, and not maintain any kind of relationship with him after that, unless he's received serious treatment. And in all fairness, I think the reverse is true as well. It isn't okay for women to abuse and beat men. And they don't get a pass on that for being the "weaker sex" or whatever.
So, let's say the MC made a serious mistake in judgment, which humans, and especially characters in books, are known to do. Ellie never really apologizes to the guy she's beaten. They never discuss the damage and mistrust that violence has created. She doesn't seek anger management help. They just go on in their relationship as if it never happened. And I think that sucks.
Yes, I like a strong female protagonist, but I don't like a female bully or abuser any more than I like the male variety.
The second thing I didn't like was an idea that seemed thrown in at random. In the book, the main male romantic lead is half fairy, half human, and he has a spell put on him not to tell humans certain things. If someone falls in love with him and declares it, he will become wholly human (which is his desire). Now, this is a bit too Beauty and the Beast for me, but I could live with it. What I hated was the reveal that whoever did declare love to him would become fairy- in other words- they would become the beast.
This seemed to be tossed in to create some tension and conflict for the romantic relationship, but it was sooo NOT needed. At the time it is mentioned, there are tons of things keeping the couple apart- including a powerful fairy amulet that doesn't even allow them to touch. The reverse Beauty and Beast curse seemed to me like an idea for another book entirely, and it annoyed the heck out of me.
Other than those two things though, it was a great read, and I loved the end. It doesn't end "Happily Ever After" but happily enough, and Karen certainly left herself room for a sequel that I will definitely want to read.
