**I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. In no way was I compensated for this review.**
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
Release Date: February 27, 2018
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Summary: In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons get to be whomever they want. Tess, stubbornly, is a troublemaker. You can't make a scene at your sister's wedding and break a relative's nose with one punch (no matter how pompous he is) and not suffer the consequences. As her family plans to send her to a nunnery, Tess yanks on her boots and sets out on a journey across the Southlands, alone and pretending to be a boy.
Where Tess is headed is a mystery, even to her. So when she runs into an old friend, it's a stroke of luck. This friend is a quigutl--a subspecies of dragon--who gives her both a purpose and protection on the road. But Tess is guarding a troubling secret. Her tumultuous past is a heavy burden to carry, and the memories she's tried to forget threaten to expose her to the world in more ways than one.
I never expected to be accepted for this ARC tbh, I'm still so surprised!! I think this was both my first big 5 ARC and the first time I've read a book the YEAR before it's published. I was also so excited for this book ever since I heard about it because I loved Seraphina. Actually, I went back and reread Seraphina and Shadow Scale after I finished this and everything makes so much more sense honestly.
I wholeheartedly loved this book; the plot, the writing, the characters, the worldbuilding, all of these were astounding. (ALSO uhhhh confirmed polyamory between some characters from Seraphina, I loved it and cried a little :'). ) Tess of the Road also covers so many issues that I personally have not seen much in the fantasy genre. It covers topics such as having to change your mindset after years of being constantly told that you aren't enough, finding yourself, and healing after past traumas. (tw: rape mention throughout the book [although implied] and this review)
After successfully getting her sister betrothed, Tess is happy to leave her family behind and live with her sister after she gets married. But she ruins it, like she ruins everything (or so she's told), so she runs away and meets her childhood friend, a quigutl. They go off on an adventure to find a Great Serpent although they run into several obstacles along the way.
Tess of the Road, at its heart, is about faith and lack thereof. While not religious, I've always been fascinated by people's faith, how they can believe in something so wholeheartedly, and this book surprised me. Tess is dealing with her own faith, so to speak, even though the world knows the truth about the Saints (spoilers for Seraphina, so I don't want to say). Her mother devoutly quotes the few saints that preached about sin; basically she polices Tess over her entire life, guilting her about her "bad" decisions. Feeling stifled, Tess rebels, which turns out badly for her, so then she feels this need to make up for her sins and be the girl her mother always wanted her to be. And when she can't stand it again? She runs away, this time resigned to the fact that she is a bad person, having basically been told that her entire life.
On the road, Tess realizes how wrong her mother was. What I loved about Rachel Hartman's writing is that she doesn't demonize religion here, even after Tess rejects all of the preachings of her childhood. She comes across a nun in a hospice, and she expects her to judge Tess for her sins. Unexpectedly, though, the nun doesn't. Instead she helps Tess recognize that, even though she's been told she's a bad person all her life, she is good; that just because she doesn't follow the teachings of a couple of saints doesn't mean that she's a sinner. This religious person helps Tess in her journey, rather than confirming her fears of being an inherently bad person, which was a surprise to me.
Along the way of coming to terms with herself, Tess also begins to actually believe in something. The Great Serpent she and her friend are seeking is wholly a quigutl belief. Despite living in a world with dragons and quigutls, the humans and dragons believe that the Great Serpents are myths and that the quigutls foolishly believe in a story. This, essentially, is the opposite of the religion of Tess's life, and her faith in this "story" again helps her to find her real self, not the person that she's been told she is.
The quigutl beliefs are a wonderful part of the worldbuilding. The stories build on the world we were introduced to in Seraphina and show us a completely different side of it. Some of the things were confusing, yet made sense, like the contradictory -utl suffix. We live in a world of oxymorons and paradoxes, and Hartman really captures this with GRAMMAR! I loved it so much; even though it was such a small detail, it adds so much to this world we journey to.
One thing I was wary of was the romance. I was really just caught off guard by it, but it helped Tess to heal after her first "romance," so I wasn't entirely put off of it. Also, the ending still left a couple of unraveled threads, so I'm honestly holding out for a sequel, but there probably won't be one. It does end nicely, albeit unexpectedly, and I'm content with where we leave off.
Tess of the Road was an incredible read; it covers topics that we so rarely get in the fantasy genre. We can all see a little of ourselves in Tess, and as we follow her along her journey on the Road, we can find ourselves healed with her. While you don't necessarily have to read Seraphina and Shadow Scale before reading this book, it helps with the background. Tess of the Road is an astonishing, breathtaking, wondrous gem of a book, one that I can't wait to read again.
On the road, Tess realizes how wrong her mother was. What I loved about Rachel Hartman's writing is that she doesn't demonize religion here, even after Tess rejects all of the preachings of her childhood. She comes across a nun in a hospice, and she expects her to judge Tess for her sins. Unexpectedly, though, the nun doesn't. Instead she helps Tess recognize that, even though she's been told she's a bad person all her life, she is good; that just because she doesn't follow the teachings of a couple of saints doesn't mean that she's a sinner. This religious person helps Tess in her journey, rather than confirming her fears of being an inherently bad person, which was a surprise to me.
Along the way of coming to terms with herself, Tess also begins to actually believe in something. The Great Serpent she and her friend are seeking is wholly a quigutl belief. Despite living in a world with dragons and quigutls, the humans and dragons believe that the Great Serpents are myths and that the quigutls foolishly believe in a story. This, essentially, is the opposite of the religion of Tess's life, and her faith in this "story" again helps her to find her real self, not the person that she's been told she is.
The quigutl beliefs are a wonderful part of the worldbuilding. The stories build on the world we were introduced to in Seraphina and show us a completely different side of it. Some of the things were confusing, yet made sense, like the contradictory -utl suffix. We live in a world of oxymorons and paradoxes, and Hartman really captures this with GRAMMAR! I loved it so much; even though it was such a small detail, it adds so much to this world we journey to.
One thing I was wary of was the romance. I was really just caught off guard by it, but it helped Tess to heal after her first "romance," so I wasn't entirely put off of it. Also, the ending still left a couple of unraveled threads, so I'm honestly holding out for a sequel, but there probably won't be one. It does end nicely, albeit unexpectedly, and I'm content with where we leave off.
Tess of the Road was an incredible read; it covers topics that we so rarely get in the fantasy genre. We can all see a little of ourselves in Tess, and as we follow her along her journey on the Road, we can find ourselves healed with her. While you don't necessarily have to read Seraphina and Shadow Scale before reading this book, it helps with the background. Tess of the Road is an astonishing, breathtaking, wondrous gem of a book, one that I can't wait to read again.
About the Author: Rachel Hartman lives and writes in Vancouver, BC. Her first YA fantasy novel, Seraphina, was published by Random House on July 10th, 2012.
No comments
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.