An interesting trend I am beginning to notice in books I’m reading set in an alternative world / timeline, is the inability to read.  In Tracy Chee’s The Reader: Sea of Ink and Gold, all the books left in the world are stored in one library, guarded by magic because the books themselves are considered dangerous and magical.  The main character is in possession of a book that records history in the form of stories and she teaches herself to read and write.  While I liked how her simple act of writing names down gave a sense of permanence to other characters, I found myself a little bored with the story.

In Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night, a tale set in a desert world ruled by a militaristic government, scholars were once the learned people but are now illiterate, looked down upon and enslaved.  I found the sandy, desert setting of book one a nice change and I really liked how well the characters were written.  They are complicated and human and smart.  Their dilemmas dragged me in as if I, too, was struggling with the same problems and situations.  The plot twists are unexpected (or at least I wasn’t looking for them) and sucked me in that much more.  The love story is a sweet, believable part of an engrossing story I recommend to anyone wanting a fantasy adventure.

What I liked:

• An alternative universe where a militaristic government is in charge of the lower classes, including the Scholars, a group of people who used to be in charge of libraries but now for the most part are considered illiterate.
• Elias is the son of the military school’s Commandant.  The first book starts with him wanting to escape the violent world he is part of, but he can’t. 
• Raised by her grandparents who are killed by the military, Laia becomes a scholar slave in the Commandant’s household, spying for the rebels, in hopes of freeing her brother from prison.
• I liked Elias’ change of fate.  I found it a fitting way to help him.  It will be interesting to see what this does, though, to his and Laia’s relationship.
• I like how Laia grows / matures through the two books.  She commits to her purpose and learns how strong she really is.  Her realization of how the relationships she foster impact her life and her choices is a nice lesson for everyone.  We should all be with people who make us stronger.
• The mysteries sprinkled throughout add to the story – exactly who or what is Laia?  Who is Elias’ father?
• I enjoyed all the characters, especially Cook and Izzy – so much more there than meets the eye.  Helene is fascinating.  She is the ultimate woman warrior who has to make some tough, tough choices.  I didn’t like her much in book 1 (pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to) but loved her in book 2.  The Commandant is just evil. 

What I didn’t like:

• Because of it being written in first person, you spend a lot of time in Laia’s head hearing about how badly she feels about running, believing she could have done more.

What I would like to know before I give this to my child:

• It is violent.  Prisoners are tortured. Laia is given to Elias as a prize and it is expected for him to rape her.     

This is a good read!  Epic adventure, sweet love story, warrior women but not too girly a boy wouldn’t enjoy it  Grade 7/8 on up.