Description
Author Ann Sei Lin Published by Walker Books Ltd ISBN 9781406399592
Rebel Skies
€10.00
Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami – wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess. But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls – and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful Emperor and his Princess?
Available on back-order
Aislinn O’Loughlin –
Look, I mislaid my ARC of this fantastically crafted, beautifully imagine Teen Fantasy Adventure for just over a week when I was three chapters in and I was NOT OK, because I was already heavily invested in the rebellious main character Kurara (a servant girl/crafter with the power to make paper come to life) and her adorkable best friend Haru, who could charm his way into anyone’s heart – and I needed to know they were going to be okay!
Rebel Skies is the sort of gorgeously executed story that pulls you in from the first line (which, by the way, is “When Himura was nine years old, his home town was attacked by a giant tortoise” – see? Told you it pulls you in). A Studio Ghibli-esque, silk-punk adventure set in a land of flying cities, skyships and wild paper spirits called shikigami who can be as loyal as they are dangerous, Rebel Skies is a highly original, gripping and occasionally heart-wrenching adventure with a high-stakes quest and intriguing mystery that keeps the story rocketing along.
Alternating in POV between Kurara, Himura and a far more sinster third character, Ann Sei Lin succeeds in doing for us what both Kurara learns to do throughout the book – bring pages to life in a way that is magical, exciting and jam-packed with so much heart & soul. Kurara is a wonderfully strong, self-reliant main character – her ability to step back and question the status quo (even when it offers HER the purpose and belonging she craves) makes her a wonderful role-model, and endlessly relatable/aspirational for young readers just starting to try to find their own place and purpose in our own world.
The ending was perfect for the first book in a series, wrapping up just enough thread to make this a satisfying stand-alone read (if, for some strange reason, you decided NOT to read the rest of the books) but also with enough intrigue and opened-possibilities to leave you chomping at the bit more Book 2 (and 3 and – I’ll take as many as I can get, honestly!)