Me on The Speaker

Title: The Speaker
Author: Traci Chee
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move. Haunted by painful memories, Archer struggles to overcome the trauma of his past with the impressors, whose cruelty plagues him whenever he closes his eyes. But when Sefia and Archer happen upon a crew of impressors in the wilderness, Archer finally finds a way to combat his nightmares: by hunting impressors and freeing the boys they hold captive. With Sefia's help, Archer travels across the kingdom of Deliene rescuing boys while she continues to investigate the mysterious Book and secrets it contains. But the more battles they fight, the more fights Archer craves, until his thirst for violence threatens to transform him from the gentle boy Sefia knows to a grim warrior with a cruel destiny. As Sefia begins to unravel the threads that connect Archer's fate to her parents' betrayal of the Guard so long ago, she and Archer must figure out a way to subvert the Guard's plans before they are ensnared in a war that will pit kingdom against kingdom, leaving their future and the safety of the entire world hanging in the balance.

The Speaker is continuing an epic tale of danger, magic, and an attempt at changing destiny. This is a story about fate, about the ways we try to run from it and the ways it surrounds us, making sure we never escape. Because the story's already been written.

Sefia is continuing her journey. A journey towards the truth, towards what the Book shows her. A journey towards penance, towards an attempt at making things right, because the Book has shown her some troubling things. Like early stories of her parents, of their betrayal to the Guard and their thievery. Of their plans, their creations and searches for a boy with a scar. This is her chance to right their wrongs, save the lives of those taken and forced into painful situations. But will it be enough?

Archer is free from the impressors, on the run with Sefia, but the horrors he was forced to do still plague him. Haunt his dreams. So much damage was done to him, him and so many other young boys taken by the impressors, trained to fight to the death for a chance for glory. Along with Sefia and the Book, they can find the impressors. Take them down. Free the other boys. But there are some fights where the bloodlust takes hold and Archer finds it harder and harder to not be who he once was.

As with the first book, I was in awe of this second offering. How it takes books and words and gives them such power, how it makes them such wondrous things with the ability to create and destroy on such an immense scale. Words have power, yes. We see this in our daily lives. But what if we could use words like magic, make the impossible possible? And what if, in order to keep the world from destroying itself, we had to destroy books? Eliminate all words? The tension is building, forces are moving. Searching. Sefia and Archer's story has already been written, it's all somewhere in the Book. It's destiny. But that doesn't mean they can't try everything in order to change it. I can't wait for the next book, to see how it will all turn out.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on The Reader

Title: The Reader
Author: Traci Chee
Release Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin imprint)

Sefia lives her life on the run. After her father is viciously murdered, she flees to the forest with her aunt Nin, the only person left she can trust. They survive in the wilderness together, hunting and stealing what they need, forever looking over their shoulders for new threats. But when Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is suddenly on her own, with no way to know who's taken Nin or where she is. Her only clue is a strange rectangular object that once belonged to her father left behind, something she comes to realize is a book. Though reading is unheard of in Sefia's world, she slowly learns, unearthing the book's closely guarded secrets, which may be the key to Nin's disappearance and discovering what really happened the day her father was killed. With no time to lose, and the unexpected help of swashbuckling pirates and an enigmatic stranger, Sefia sets out on a dangerous journey to rescue her aunt, using the book as her guide. In the end, she discovers what the book had been trying to tell her all along: Nothing is as it seems, and the end of her story is only the beginning.

The Reader is magical, a tale of words and magic, of outlaws and pirates. Of peace and war, of power. Of meaning and purpose.

Sefia is living a life on the run with her aunt Nin, hunting and setting furs when they can, hiding from the authorities. Forever looking over her shoulder in case someone is following them. But then Nin is taken, beaten and kidnapped by a woman in black. Now alone, Sefia is worried, but also desperate and angry. She's determined to rescue Nin and learn the truth. Why she was taken. Why her father was murdered. But to do that, Sefia looks at the one thing her father left behind, the thing he and her mother kept secret. A thing of paper and ink scribbles called a book. And she decides to figure out what it says. But this is no ordinary book, and Sefia being able to read is no ordinary skill, and she soon finds herself chased and hunted.

Books. Books are enchanting, powerful, wonderful things. They transport readers to different worlds, different times, different places. They share stories and messages, lessons learned and loves lost. They teach, they show us truths long forgotten and often denied. This world with its emphasis on oral storytelling and its banishment of the written word is fascinating. When Sefia opens the book, when she teaches herself to read, she can see the magic of the world around her. It's the act of reading, the learning, that opens up the possibilities of the world around her to her. But what Sefia doesn't know, what she can't yet see, is the group searching for the book. The group that doesn't want just anyone to know how to read.

I was enchanted by this book. As someone who loves storytelling, when an author and their book is telling me an epic tale, I just fall into it. This was surprising and enthralling, and I never wanted to stop reading it. I just had to know what would happen next, what Sefia would read next, who she would come across next. And there was always that little bit of me never being sure if what was happening really was happening. I can't wait to read the next book, to find out what happens next and where Sefia goes.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)