One Page at a Time
Katie Kendrick
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book #1) – Sarah J. Maas.
I LOVED this book. Since I teach high school English, I tend to read a lot of YA novels. This one in particular was just amazing. Most YA novels tend to be the same old story line with just a few minor tweaks here and there – that was not the case with this book.
This story is a retelling of the old fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. This book revolves around central protagonist, Feyre, who is a nineteen year old huntress. Her family is starving and poor. She takes it upon herself to go into the woods to hunt for food. One day she happens upon a giant wolf that she kills and skins. A few days later, a beast-like creature comes to her home demanding payment for killing a member of his court. So Feyre is dragged off to live away from her family on this magical land that she has only heard horrible stories about. Feyre eventually discovers that her captor is not a monster at all but really a powerful fairy named Tamlin. He is trapped behind a mask because of a spell put on him and the rest of his kind. The longer she stays with him, the more her feelings for Tamlin begin to grow and change. Eventually their mutual hostility towards each other evolves into something else. However, just like Beauty and the Beast, they have to fight for what they want in the end and protect each other.
I don’t want to give the whole plot away but here are a few of my takeaways:
1.Girl power! Feyre is a strong willed individual. She has two sisters who are also shown to be very strong willed towards the end. Feyre knows what she wants. She stands by her beliefs. She doesn’t actually need the man. She is perfectly capable of defending and protecting herself. She proves this several times in the story as she is constantly facing different obstacles and overcoming them, both emotionally and physically. She does not need to be saved.
2.Lucien is probably one of my favorite characters. He is Tamlins second in command. He is so lovable! You learn a little about his history and backstory throughout the book. You discover his horrible family life, how he got the scars on his face, etc. All you want to do is root for him. He and Feyre eventually become close friends which is really the first time for both of them (having friends).