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IN SHORT: This young adult fantasy book has a pirate-y, high-seas adventure vibe.
REVIEW
Four years ago, Fable watched from the ocean swells as her father’s ship sank into a stormy, unforgiving sea. The next day her father abandoned her on an island ruled by thieves and convicts.
Fable doesn’t understand why her father left her. She tells herself it was the grief of losing her mother that night. Either way, she’s survived alone all these years by trusting no one, keeping to herself, and relying on the dredger skills her mother taught her, and she’s determined to use her skills digging up gemstones to get off this island, find her father, and demand her rightful place beside him and his crew. But escape — like everything — comes at a cost, and she’s going to have to rely on a young trader named West and his strange little crew to get her off the islands and across the Narrows to her father.
It may be treacherous, but the sea has been the only home Fable has ever known, and she’s determined to find her place upon it once again. However, her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since Fable last saw him. No one is as they seem — including West and the crew — but if she’s to regain the life she once lost and survive the world that left her behind, she’ll have to find someone she can trust.
Adrienne Young has created another lush, atmospheric world in Fable. I could almost smell the sea and feel the salt on my skin and see the shine of the gemstones. And even though there are not actual pirates, this book has a definite pirate-y, high-seas adventure vibe. The world is harsh and cruel, so the characters are too, yet they’re also loyal to each other to a fault, and, like the author’s other books, Fable leans toward the theme of found family.
Despite this, I wish the characters were more well-rounded. In the end, I felt I didn’t get the chance to know them that well. Also, have you ever had the irrational fear when reading the last few pages that the story is just going to end and you’ll find a section of your book is missing? Well, I had that same feeling when reading Fable. Turns out it’s not such an irrational fear after all, because with Fable the story didn’t end. It simply stopped. Abruptly.
Still, there is magic in the writing and the vividness of the Narrows, and I cannot wait to jump back into this young adult fantasy book and discover how Fable’s story really ends in the sequel, Namesake.
RATING
Rated: Moderate, for violence. While not being gory, this book can be vicious and brutal at times, with morally gray characters not afraid to kill or exact harsh punishment. Fable deals with a lot of neglect from her father. There are a few sexual innuendos. Two guys show affection toward each other. A surprisingly intimate kiss leads to a fade-to-black scene where characters wake up together in the morning. There is also a handful of mild and moderate language.
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