bedisbetter's review against another edition
3.0
No insta-love with this book. I enjoyed the story and it was a quick read. Not a lot of awesome, descriptive, get lost in a world writing, but it kept me interested.
nightshade_novels's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up on a whim as the blurb seemed good. I hadn't heard anything about it before. I'm so glad I did as it was really good. I loved the world that has been built in this book. I also enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing their relationships. Nya's friendship and trust in Danello seemed to blossom rather quickly, but I liked her relationship with her sister Tali and friend Aylin.
This book stands up as a story on its own, but I would really like to get the next book and see where Hardy takes this story next.
This book stands up as a story on its own, but I would really like to get the next book and see where Hardy takes this story next.
katieneelzy's review against another edition
2.0
brilliant idea, but I just didn't like it all that much.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
Ages 10+ (one "ass", violence, general complexity)
I'm not sure what to think about this one. It's hard to wrap my head around genuine world-built fantasy sometimes (although I have no problem with science fiction, huh). New vocabulary must be absorbed, passages demand re-reading in order to understand them. But the story of Nya, an orphan in an defeated and culturally oppressed country, is terribly intriguing.
See, Nya is from a family of Healers, folks with a magical bent who can absorb pain and push it into an incredibly valuable metal called pynvium. But unlike her sister Tali (an apprentice at the League of Healers) she can't sense or push into pynvium - she can only take pain and shift it to another person. This makes her useless in her society. Or so she thinks. When her skill is inadvertently exposed, a group of sinister men offer her deals for her services. And she wouldn't necessarily take them up on it - except for Tali's suddenly disappeared, and Nya needs their money and supplies to find her, as well as the other missing apprentices.
A fascinating culture is built here, much like The City of Ember or the Stravaganza series, and this is only the first book in the Healing Wars. Political and ethnic tension may go over the heads of younger readers, but would make this a very interesting book for a discussion group. I can't spoil the conclusion, but needless to say Nya comes of this first tome a blazing young Jean d'Arc, and it seems like her story will only become more exciting in further volumes.
Not a can't put it downer, but definitely an I want to find out what happens-er. Those who are more fantasy savvy than me will enjoy it, perhaps even love it.
I'm not sure what to think about this one. It's hard to wrap my head around genuine world-built fantasy sometimes (although I have no problem with science fiction, huh). New vocabulary must be absorbed, passages demand re-reading in order to understand them. But the story of Nya, an orphan in an defeated and culturally oppressed country, is terribly intriguing.
See, Nya is from a family of Healers, folks with a magical bent who can absorb pain and push it into an incredibly valuable metal called pynvium. But unlike her sister Tali (an apprentice at the League of Healers) she can't sense or push into pynvium - she can only take pain and shift it to another person. This makes her useless in her society. Or so she thinks. When her skill is inadvertently exposed, a group of sinister men offer her deals for her services. And she wouldn't necessarily take them up on it - except for Tali's suddenly disappeared, and Nya needs their money and supplies to find her, as well as the other missing apprentices.
A fascinating culture is built here, much like The City of Ember or the Stravaganza series, and this is only the first book in the Healing Wars. Political and ethnic tension may go over the heads of younger readers, but would make this a very interesting book for a discussion group. I can't spoil the conclusion, but needless to say Nya comes of this first tome a blazing young Jean d'Arc, and it seems like her story will only become more exciting in further volumes.
Not a can't put it downer, but definitely an I want to find out what happens-er. Those who are more fantasy savvy than me will enjoy it, perhaps even love it.
shecantcomplain's review against another edition
It's been a while so I hardly remember it. However, I do want to find out what happens, so I'm definitely going to work it into my TBR pile.
kmc3050's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this one more than I thought I would. The main character is likeable and the action is great. It's also nice to have a YA story where romance isn't the main theme. The only negatives to this one are that some of the dialog is cheesy, and the original character and place names seem too out there as compared to the setting and the way the characters interact.
etinney's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a lot of action. A LOT. The concept is very original and that's something you don't see a lot in this twilight era. The characters were well developed and believable. When Nya hurts someone, she actually feels guilty and doesn't think only about herself.
- .5 Breathing
I love action, but I some point we need to stop, breathe, and process what happened. Sometimes info was dumped while we are running, and it felt like "oh, um OK!!".
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars. />
Cover: Kinda cool effect, but not too exciting.
Would I recommend it to people? Oh heck yes.
- .5 Breathing
I love action, but I some point we need to stop, breathe, and process what happened. Sometimes info was dumped while we are running, and it felt like "oh, um OK!!".
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars. />
Cover: Kinda cool effect, but not too exciting.
Would I recommend it to people? Oh heck yes.