Scan barcode
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
Phera, the third daughter of the royal elephant keeper, is raised as a male so that there is an heir. (Okay, side note: great now they have an heir! But how are they expecting the line to live past Phera?) However, when the British invade and the king is forced into exile, Phera's life is turned upside down and her family flees. Now Phera can enjoy being a female but misses the freedoms of being male! That all becomes a moot point when the British track down her family. The writing in this book is rich and descriptive, the setting is beautiful. This provides a stark contrast to the actions of the invading British. Phera makes for a strong female character and it was enjoyable to read how she overcomes her struggles and protects her family!
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and AmazonCrossing in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and AmazonCrossing in exchange for an honest review.
ellie_bell's review
3.0
Three stars for the writing, which felt at young teen-YA level a lot of the time and for a while there I really felt as though I'd accidentally picked up a YA book. But then came some graphically described events which made it clear that it was not YA at all. At this point I decided that the writing style was possibly due to having been translated.
Rounded up to three and a half stars because I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit predictable and lacked depth.
Rounded up to three and a half stars because I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit predictable and lacked depth.
gretel7's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.
Set in 1800's Sri Lanka, the story follows Phera. To ensure the family line, her parents raise her to believe she is a boy until she is 12. Then the British invade and destroy their way of life so she no longer needs to be a boy.
Some of the conversational language was rather sophomoric and stilted. And I never understood why Charles was so purely evil. His hatred made no sense. Was the character made a villian just to have a really evil villian in the story? His brother Henry was completely the opposite and reminisces about their pleasant childhood. Ying and Yang? Good and bad?
There was some pretty graphic scenes of rape and torture. Appropriate for ages 15 and above.
3☆
Set in 1800's Sri Lanka, the story follows Phera. To ensure the family line, her parents raise her to believe she is a boy until she is 12. Then the British invade and destroy their way of life so she no longer needs to be a boy.
Some of the conversational language was rather sophomoric and stilted. And I never understood why Charles was so purely evil. His hatred made no sense. Was the character made a villian just to have a really evil villian in the story? His brother Henry was completely the opposite and reminisces about their pleasant childhood. Ying and Yang? Good and bad?
There was some pretty graphic scenes of rape and torture. Appropriate for ages 15 and above.
3☆
emilieisafandom's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you goodreads giveaway! I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. I don't know much, well pretty much nothing about the timeline it was set in. I loved that the main character could be who she wanted and felt to be. All in all an enjoyable read!
beesandbooks's review
4.0
Final Thoughts
This was a beautiful and deeply moving book. I definitely recommend minding content warnings in order to stay safe, but if you can read this book you should. Phera is a compelling main character and her family excellent narrators for the British invasion of Sri Lanka. You’ll root for the Kanda Uda Pasrata kingdom over the British and mourn for the losses during their rebellion. The Odell brothers are two sides of the same coin, the violent and sympathetic towards the Sinhalese kingdom. This book is honest about what happened to Sri Lanka under British colonialism but also includes the hope of new beginnings, new love, and strength in the face of tragedy.
For a more in depth review, check out my book blog: https://beesandbooks.home.blog/2020/05/11/review-the-elephant-keepers-daughter-by-julia-drosten/
This was a beautiful and deeply moving book. I definitely recommend minding content warnings in order to stay safe, but if you can read this book you should. Phera is a compelling main character and her family excellent narrators for the British invasion of Sri Lanka. You’ll root for the Kanda Uda Pasrata kingdom over the British and mourn for the losses during their rebellion. The Odell brothers are two sides of the same coin, the violent and sympathetic towards the Sinhalese kingdom. This book is honest about what happened to Sri Lanka under British colonialism but also includes the hope of new beginnings, new love, and strength in the face of tragedy.
For a more in depth review, check out my book blog: https://beesandbooks.home.blog/2020/05/11/review-the-elephant-keepers-daughter-by-julia-drosten/
More...