marshmallowbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this book. This is my second time reading it, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. There's a little bit of magic, there's a little bit of attitude, and there's a little bit of mystery. I'm looking forward to a re-read of the second in the trilogy The Truth-Teller's Tale.
shaekin's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know what to expect from this book as I added it a long time ago, but I was pleasantly surprised. A quick easy read, fantastic world building, good characters. I figured out some of the secrets very early in the book, but still greatly enjoyed the journey.
elenajohansen's review against another edition
2.0
A beautiful narrative style that's soft, lyrical, and comforting; a lackluster story.
I can't say there's nothing about this book that I enjoyed, but there was far more that troubled me. As much as I liked the ideas about the magic of the Truth Tellers and Safe Keepers, both roles come with moral challenges that the story only partially addresses. When Fiona realizes that her mother has to keep secrets that are deeply hurtful in some way, like those about abuse or other crimes, she suffers pangs of conscience and an anger that her mother can't/isn't doing anything about those harmful situations. I thought that was great, and later on was glad to see that she skirted the edges of her own Safe Keeper position in order to help someone in need without betraying the secret directly; but even if Fiona "saved" the girl in trouble, there was no justice for her, as the trouble she was in went unpunished, and the girl's mother seemed very blithely uncaring that her husband might go on to molest other young girls, the implication being that they don't matter because they're not family. And I'm not okay with that.
Another issue is the incredibly ableist attitudes of most of the characters, which I found surprising and disturbing. At this point I've read most of Shinn's catalog of works, with only some of the most recently published that haven't crossed my path yet. And I genuinely don't remember any of them being this ableist. One of the minor characters is described as weak and frail due to an accident when she was younger. Her fiance marries her anyway, despite her telling him she doesn't believe she could ever bear children, because of her health--he insists he marries her for love and will live with the disappointment of not having children. When truths and secrets come out later in the story, it becomes clear that a) she probably could have safely had kids, and b) having a kid was the husband's deepest wish. So everybody in that marriage was suffering, and fair enough, but the blame is laid entirely on the disabled wife for her selfishness and frailness. Everyone who knows them sees the husband as the nobly suffering victim of his situation, while ignoring the actual physical pain of the wife, and whatever presumable emotional trauma she dealt with from being branded as the disappointing wife who the husband so nobly endures. Fiona, our main character, immediately hates the wife because of this situation and says some pretty awful things about her. I thought at first that it would be a character flaw of hers that got resolved somehow later, but no, everybody else goes along with it, and the ending makes it very clear that the wife was in the wrong.
Which, in a larger sense, is also pretty misogynistic, because the story definitely looks down on a woman who doesn't want to be a mother. Yes, apparently she lied about her ability to be one and that's not great, but since the couple's childlessness is the source of the husband's suffering and that's treated more seriously by the narrative that the wife's actual pain...yuck. Just yuck, all around.
There are other problems with the ending, too. I figured out some of the secrets revealed, but not all of them--I'm not convinced that one in particular wasn't a total ass-pull that would have been impossible to determine ahead of time. But despite all these dreams being granted and all this secret knowledge shared, somehow the ending still feels incomplete, and the preview chapter for the next book seems to be dealing with entirely new characters, so I'm not sure any further resolution would be forthcoming if I kept reading. I don't think I will.
I can't say there's nothing about this book that I enjoyed, but there was far more that troubled me. As much as I liked the ideas about the magic of the Truth Tellers and Safe Keepers, both roles come with moral challenges that the story only partially addresses. When Fiona realizes that her mother has to keep secrets that are deeply hurtful in some way, like those about abuse or other crimes, she suffers pangs of conscience and an anger that her mother can't/isn't doing anything about those harmful situations. I thought that was great, and later on was glad to see that she skirted the edges of her own Safe Keeper position in order to help someone in need without betraying the secret directly; but even if Fiona "saved" the girl in trouble, there was no justice for her, as the trouble she was in went unpunished, and the girl's mother seemed very blithely uncaring that her husband might go on to molest other young girls, the implication being that they don't matter because they're not family. And I'm not okay with that.
Another issue is the incredibly ableist attitudes of most of the characters, which I found surprising and disturbing. At this point I've read most of Shinn's catalog of works, with only some of the most recently published that haven't crossed my path yet. And I genuinely don't remember any of them being this ableist. One of the minor characters is described as weak and frail due to an accident when she was younger. Her fiance marries her anyway, despite her telling him she doesn't believe she could ever bear children, because of her health--he insists he marries her for love and will live with the disappointment of not having children. When truths and secrets come out later in the story, it becomes clear that a) she probably could have safely had kids, and b) having a kid was the husband's deepest wish. So everybody in that marriage was suffering, and fair enough, but the blame is laid entirely on the disabled wife for her selfishness and frailness. Everyone who knows them sees the husband as the nobly suffering victim of his situation, while ignoring the actual physical pain of the wife, and whatever presumable emotional trauma she dealt with from being branded as the disappointing wife who the husband so nobly endures. Fiona, our main character, immediately hates the wife because of this situation and says some pretty awful things about her. I thought at first that it would be a character flaw of hers that got resolved somehow later, but no, everybody else goes along with it, and the ending makes it very clear that the wife was in the wrong.
Which, in a larger sense, is also pretty misogynistic, because the story definitely looks down on a woman who doesn't want to be a mother. Yes, apparently she lied about her ability to be one and that's not great, but since the couple's childlessness is the source of the husband's suffering and that's treated more seriously by the narrative that the wife's actual pain...yuck. Just yuck, all around.
There are other problems with the ending, too. I figured out some of the secrets revealed, but not all of them--I'm not convinced that one in particular wasn't a total ass-pull that would have been impossible to determine ahead of time. But despite all these dreams being granted and all this secret knowledge shared, somehow the ending still feels incomplete, and the preview chapter for the next book seems to be dealing with entirely new characters, so I'm not sure any further resolution would be forthcoming if I kept reading. I don't think I will.
indywonder05's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. It is a quick read with interesting characters. Near the end it slowed down for me a bit and then wrapped up a bit quickly or else I would have given it five stars. I really liked the twists and the character development.
aphelia88's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a huge Sharon Shinn fan - I've read and collected most of the many books she's written and count her among my all-time favourite authors. She's a masterful writer who crosses and mixes many different genres in unique ways so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, the first in a YA trilogy. It's a gentle, lovely slice-of-life tale about growing up, grief and having (and making) wishes come true!
Damiana is the Safe-Keeper for her small village of Tambleham. Folk tell her secrets and she keeps them, at least until a Truth-Teller is magically compelled to speak them:
"'It was a help. You don't know it yet, but sometimes the weight of knowledge is almost too much to bear. Sharing it with one other living soul is enough to ease your burden. Even if no one else ever learns of it. Even if nothing changes.'" (Elminstra to Fiona, 57)
One dark night, as Damiana is birthing her own child, a strange rider turns up at her door and entrusts a baby to her care, via her sister. When the rider's body turns up, there's no hiding his visit (). As rumours of a royal bastard spread throughout the small town, it seems this is one secret she can't keep - but she holds her silence and lets the townsfolk think what they will.
Damiana's daughter Fiona thinks she knows her future. She wants to be a Safe-Keeper like her mother, and devotes herself to learning silence and herbal cures, but her mother's boyfriend - a brutally honest Truth-Teller - tells her she's unsuited for the job as her need to right wrongs is too strong. Damian's son Reed, meanwhile, is Fiona's polar opposite: restless, lively and plagued by wanderlust. He tries his hand at a different profession nearly every season, trying to find his true purpose and a place to belong.
As Fiona has her convictions about herself and her future challenged and Reed seeks a cure for his rootlessness, Damiana falls ill and both have to learn how to build new lives that look nothing like they had imagined.
It is wondrous how much affecting emotion Shinn is able to pack into this slim tale. Similarly, in nearly all of her works, she manages to create complex and meaningful religions and spiritual practices and this story includes one of her most appealing: the Wintermoon festival, illustrated in the cover art.
Akin to Christmas, Wintermoon is a time for friends and family to visit and feast. They also make a special wreath together, woven from different types of branches - "oak for strength, birch for beauty, cedar for serenity, evergreen for steadfastness, rowan for faith" (76) - adorned with personal tokens (like gold thread for wealth) to symbolize each individual's wish for the coming year.
This wreath hangs over the fire place during the celebrations and is then burnt in a big bonfire on Wintermoon night, releasing the hopes, prayers and wishes of all for the coming year.
For in this world, in addition to Safe-Keepers and Truth-Tellers, there also lives a singular Dream-Maker, whose own life is all sorrowful disaster but whose presence magically grants impossible wishes. The current Dream-Maker is a friend of Damiana's family but she cannot direct her magic, or choose which wishes to grant.
Nevertheless, after several Wintermoons spent together, all the characters in this small circle have their hearts' desires granted, in surprising and wonderful ways.
I only wish this story was longer! The ending did feel a little abrupt to me. Great twist though, and it makes me excited to read more about this unusual magic system in the next book, [b:The Truth-Teller's Tale|97969|The Truth-Teller's Tale (Safe-Keepers, #2)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389430163l/97969._SY75_.jpg|1153787]!
Damiana is the Safe-Keeper for her small village of Tambleham. Folk tell her secrets and she keeps them, at least until a Truth-Teller is magically compelled to speak them:
"'It was a help. You don't know it yet, but sometimes the weight of knowledge is almost too much to bear. Sharing it with one other living soul is enough to ease your burden. Even if no one else ever learns of it. Even if nothing changes.'" (Elminstra to Fiona, 57)
One dark night, as Damiana is birthing her own child, a strange rider turns up at her door and entrusts a baby to her care, via her sister. When the rider's body turns up, there's no hiding his visit (
Spoiler
I did wonder why he didn't ride further away from the village before killing himself to disguise his mission; it seems anyone who was following his trail would look for the closest Secret-Keeper!Damiana's daughter Fiona thinks she knows her future. She wants to be a Safe-Keeper like her mother, and devotes herself to learning silence and herbal cures, but her mother's boyfriend - a brutally honest Truth-Teller - tells her she's unsuited for the job as her need to right wrongs is too strong. Damian's son Reed, meanwhile, is Fiona's polar opposite: restless, lively and plagued by wanderlust. He tries his hand at a different profession nearly every season, trying to find his true purpose and a place to belong.
As Fiona has her convictions about herself and her future challenged and Reed seeks a cure for his rootlessness, Damiana falls ill and both have to learn how to build new lives that look nothing like they had imagined.
It is wondrous how much affecting emotion Shinn is able to pack into this slim tale. Similarly, in nearly all of her works, she manages to create complex and meaningful religions and spiritual practices and this story includes one of her most appealing: the Wintermoon festival, illustrated in the cover art.
Akin to Christmas, Wintermoon is a time for friends and family to visit and feast. They also make a special wreath together, woven from different types of branches - "oak for strength, birch for beauty, cedar for serenity, evergreen for steadfastness, rowan for faith" (76) - adorned with personal tokens (like gold thread for wealth) to symbolize each individual's wish for the coming year.
This wreath hangs over the fire place during the celebrations and is then burnt in a big bonfire on Wintermoon night, releasing the hopes, prayers and wishes of all for the coming year.
For in this world, in addition to Safe-Keepers and Truth-Tellers, there also lives a singular Dream-Maker, whose own life is all sorrowful disaster but whose presence magically grants impossible wishes. The current Dream-Maker is a friend of Damiana's family but she cannot direct her magic, or choose which wishes to grant.
Nevertheless, after several Wintermoons spent together, all the characters in this small circle have their hearts' desires granted, in surprising and wonderful ways.
I only wish this story was longer! The ending did feel a little abrupt to me. Great twist though, and it makes me excited to read more about this unusual magic system in the next book, [b:The Truth-Teller's Tale|97969|The Truth-Teller's Tale (Safe-Keepers, #2)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389430163l/97969._SY75_.jpg|1153787]!
curiouslibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I really like the premise for this book and the types of characters that inhabit it. First you have "Safe-Keepers:" a person in a village who keeps everyone's secrets. Then there is a "Truth-Teller" who is bound to tell the truth for good or ill. One person in a generation is a "Dream-Maker," a person who causes dreams to come true and luck to people she encounters, though she has no control over this power and it comes with terrible misfortune and sacrifice on her part.
So in this particular story a Safe-Keeper raises a potentially royal foundling and her own child side by side. Both children have to contend with their own natures, what they want to do, and possibly what their rightful place in the world is. Fiona desperately wants to be a Safe-Keeper like her mother, though what she really wants to do is fix people's problems and despite the fact that the Truth-Teller has told her she will never be a Safe-Keeper. And Reed is restless though extremely loyal to his mother and Fiona.
Shinn has written compelling and deep characters and stuck them into a strong and personal narrative for a fantasy. Of course, that is what she does best. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I don't think it was just because I was sick at the time I read it.
Recommended. YA.
So in this particular story a Safe-Keeper raises a potentially royal foundling and her own child side by side. Both children have to contend with their own natures, what they want to do, and possibly what their rightful place in the world is. Fiona desperately wants to be a Safe-Keeper like her mother, though what she really wants to do is fix people's problems and despite the fact that the Truth-Teller has told her she will never be a Safe-Keeper. And Reed is restless though extremely loyal to his mother and Fiona.
Shinn has written compelling and deep characters and stuck them into a strong and personal narrative for a fantasy. Of course, that is what she does best. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I don't think it was just because I was sick at the time I read it.
Recommended. YA.
metaphorosis's review against another edition
3.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
3 stars
A Safe-Keeper, forbidden to tell the secrets she receives, is handed a baby just as her sister Safe-Keeper gives birth. Rumor has it the child is the king's, but the children are raised as brother and sister, each trying to find its destiny.
This is a pleasant, nicely written new fairy tale, with likeable characters and a smoothly drawn environment. It's a fun read, for the most part. Unfortunately, as is often true with Shinn, the story is heavily wrapped in traditional stereotypes and gender roles. The boy is hyperactive and muscular; the girl is quiet and obedient. It's an approach that was substantially outdated long before the book was written in 2004.
Despite all that, Shinn is a good writer, the characters (under the stereotypes) are nice, and the story is well-balanced, so it's a fun story to read. It's disappointing, therefore, that Shinn undercuts it all with authorial legerdemain that, when revealed, wipes out most of the reader's goodwill. She's created a nice world, and there are apparently other stories in it. If you want a good young adult book, and can set aside the gender issues, it might be fun to explore those.
binxthinx's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this book except for everything about Victoria.
sa_er's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
clarkco's review against another edition
4.0
Very homey fantasty where everyone ends up happy with a legitimate surprise ending.