TRICKSTER'S GIRL by Hilari Bell
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy
Pages: 288
Publication: January 3, 2011
(Houghton Mifflin Books for Children)
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads Summary: In the year 2098 America isn't so different from the USA of today. But, in a post-9/11 security-obssessed world, "secured" doesn't just refer to borders between countries, it also refer to borders between states. Teenagers still think they know everything, but there is no cure for cancer, as Kelsa knows first-hand from watching her father die.
The night Kelsa buries her father, a boy appears. He claims magic is responsible for the health of Earth, but human damage disrupts its flow. The planet is dying.
Kelsa has the powers to reverse the damage, but first she must accept that magic exists and see beyond her own pain in order to heal the planet.
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Trickster's Girl is one of those books that doesn't fit neatly into any box. Instead, it combines many different ideas - dystopian, science fiction, and Native American mythology - into something new.
Kelsa knows she can't leave her father's ashes to rest in an ordinary cemetery. What she doesn't know is that in attempting to bury them herself, the course of her life will change. While in the forest, she meets Raven - the embodiment of a Native American spirit - who tells her that she is the one he needs to heal the leys and reverse the tree plague that has been unleashed in the rain forest. At first she refuses - after all, she can't very well take off for Alaska on her own - but the more she learns about Raven, and after she heals the first ley, she can't bring herself to abandon the quest. Yet the journey is not as easy as Kelsa imagined. Raven isn't the most trustworthy of boys...or creatures...and he has his share of enemies. There are those who would see the leys unhealed, and the human race destroyed...not to mention the fact that Kelsa must break numerous laws in the process. Can she avoid her enemies and heal the leys in time?
This book was quite original at the outset, with a very interesting premise. It was nice to see Native American mythology incorporated into a book for a change instead of Greek or Roman. Although the setting is futuristic, many of the elements were not much of a leap from what exists or is being developed now. The adventures were very well written, and I really loved the descriptions of the various landscapes (especially Banff - it brought back fond memories). Kelsa and Raven had some great moments: funny banter moreso than anything romantic, even though romantic feelings vied for their place.
After a while, however the story became a bit repetitive and predictable. At the same time, however, a few things seemed to come from nowhere - but in a confusing way, rather than a surprising or intriguing one. Also, he ending seemed a bit rushed and incomplete; I know there will be a sequel, and there is certainly a need for one, but I still found myself wanting something more from this book.
Overall, Tricker's Girl is an enjoyable story with a unique premise. I'll be curious to see how things are resolved in the sequel!
Rating: 3 stars
Huh, this sounds pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by "it needs a sequel," though? I really hate books that can't stand alone, at least a little bit...they thoroughly irritate me, when they leave serious cliffhangers that you HAVE to have another book to resolve.