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A review by tinlizzyd08
Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge
4.0
I could not get into this book for probably the first half! I very rarely DNF a book but I was honestly close with this one. Thankfully I did NOT and just plowed on through because when it all came together I loved the story so much! I can stand back after reading and see a beautiful story that made me think and eventually, cheer!
Arilou and Hathin are sisters, just children really, but one is special and one is not. Or so we are told! Arilou is treasured by their village, the Lace, as a possible member of the Lost, someone able to send out their mind and senses outside of their body to view the world and bring back information. Her talents give the village status. Hathin is her invisible caretaker and has found herself in the role of her sister’s protector.
But their small village is rocked by life altering trauma and the girls have to run for their lives to the dangerous volcano’s of lore surrounding their island home. Hathin is forced to become the main character she never thought to be and has to solve the mystery of how to save both herself and Arilou and also how to save all their people, the Lace.
I think what made the book clunky at first was how detailed and complicated the languages, difficult names and abundance of characters were (sometimes with also similar sounding names!) I’m not sure I was following the story well for a good third of the book because I was confused by all the details. Once I finally got it straight, I think on a second read it would all flow much better.
I also think, I just didn’t like the sisters very much at first. Their dynamic of cared for and caretaker made me angry and Hathin, as the unexpected lead of the story, was a dubious main character for quite a while as she doubts herself and seems unlikely to be able to have the strength of character to save the day. But her character development is so well done! Looking back through the story, Hathin finds her strength and goes from a weak, scared girl to a young woman who finds power, forgiveness and the ability to influence those around her for the good.
What I loved so much as I finally got linked in was the story of the Lace people, a marginalized group who are considered lower class and vaguely sketchy folks because their customs are odd to the mainlanders. So instead of digging deeper when a terrible plot is revealed against the Lost, the world looks no deeper than their prejudices. Mob justice is dealt out, destroying and enslaving village after village. The bureaucracy and inefficiency of government is a scary but realistic commentary on how out of touch and misguided officials with power can deal out serious damage in situations they don’t fully understand.
Another really interesting plot point is the idea of revenge. The Lace have long been at odds with the rest of the mainland and over the years their has been a series of back and forth incidents that are slowly escalating which have lead to the murder and enslavement of the Lace. Many of the Lace who’ve escaped want revenge and when that opportunity is put in their hands to deal a substantial blow back to their oppressors they all feel justified in taking it but will they only continue to perpetuate the violence?
Definitely a book worth reading and I think even re-reading to fully enjoy!
Arilou and Hathin are sisters, just children really, but one is special and one is not. Or so we are told! Arilou is treasured by their village, the Lace, as a possible member of the Lost, someone able to send out their mind and senses outside of their body to view the world and bring back information. Her talents give the village status. Hathin is her invisible caretaker and has found herself in the role of her sister’s protector.
But their small village is rocked by life altering trauma and the girls have to run for their lives to the dangerous volcano’s of lore surrounding their island home. Hathin is forced to become the main character she never thought to be and has to solve the mystery of how to save both herself and Arilou and also how to save all their people, the Lace.
I think what made the book clunky at first was how detailed and complicated the languages, difficult names and abundance of characters were (sometimes with also similar sounding names!) I’m not sure I was following the story well for a good third of the book because I was confused by all the details. Once I finally got it straight, I think on a second read it would all flow much better.
I also think, I just didn’t like the sisters very much at first. Their dynamic of cared for and caretaker made me angry and Hathin, as the unexpected lead of the story, was a dubious main character for quite a while as she doubts herself and seems unlikely to be able to have the strength of character to save the day. But her character development is so well done! Looking back through the story, Hathin finds her strength and goes from a weak, scared girl to a young woman who finds power, forgiveness and the ability to influence those around her for the good.
What I loved so much as I finally got linked in was the story of the Lace people, a marginalized group who are considered lower class and vaguely sketchy folks because their customs are odd to the mainlanders. So instead of digging deeper when a terrible plot is revealed against the Lost, the world looks no deeper than their prejudices. Mob justice is dealt out, destroying and enslaving village after village. The bureaucracy and inefficiency of government is a scary but realistic commentary on how out of touch and misguided officials with power can deal out serious damage in situations they don’t fully understand.
Another really interesting plot point is the idea of revenge. The Lace have long been at odds with the rest of the mainland and over the years their has been a series of back and forth incidents that are slowly escalating which have lead to the murder and enslavement of the Lace. Many of the Lace who’ve escaped want revenge and when that opportunity is put in their hands to deal a substantial blow back to their oppressors they all feel justified in taking it but will they only continue to perpetuate the violence?
Definitely a book worth reading and I think even re-reading to fully enjoy!