Edgar F F itibaren Ponikwa, Polonya
An unusual story, for sure. Although it's set in a generically Norse-esque fantasy universe, it reminded me strongly of M. Night Shayamalan's film The Village--long before I got to the "surprise" reveal at the climax of the action. I'm not comfortable with the primary lesson that Stroud seems to be teaching here, but Halli's personal journey is engaging and appealing. Of note is the fact that Stroud goes out of his way to establish that the main character is ugly--without actually making it a major plot point. That isn't too unusual in YA fiction in general, especially when it's of the ironically witty, contemporary type--but in my experience, it's pretty rare among pseudo-historical fantasy stories.
I'm a bit envious and amazed at how Barbara and her family managed, in a year long experiment, to live on what they grew and raised themselves, and what they could get locally and in season from farmers markets, completely eschewing my idea of heaven, Costco, where you can get strawberries and so many other wonderful fruits, vegetables, and other delights year round. But, the Kingsolvers will be self sufficient if times get really tough, and the rest of us will be standing outside Costco, shelves bared in a matter of hours or a couple of days, in the event of some catastrophe, and we'll all be wondering what will become of us. Guess it is really a good idea to stock up on some basic food storage, if you can't grow it all yourself! In the meantime, what time does Costco open?