This was my first Melanie Dickerson book to try, after having heard of several friends reading her. The story leaned towards your typical beautiful girl/handsome guy duo who started out despising each other then discovered they loved each other.What I liked - this was probably the first Rapunzel story I have read. I knew the basic plot line but it was neat to see how Dickerson made it her own story. I greatly appreciated that there was no magic in the book, though there was one part when Gerek was praying and the crucifix glowed as he sensed his answer. It was briefly mentioned. The medieval flare and descriptions were well done. I think one of my favorite parts was the description of the castle life. It was definitely a book in which the characters prayed to God and sought His direction. Though the denomination was Roman Catholic (which is historically accurate), I did like the Christian emphasis and lessons discussed.
What I didn't care for - the main thing that bothered me was towards the end, when a man and woman spent days and nights traveling alone together. This put them in situations that could have been sinful but instead, they both had the strong will to abstain. While it was honorable to read about, I personally think it could be dangerous for girls to read about it then excuse their behavior and be led into temptation.
What younger readers may need to know - I would say that one of the strongest themes in the book was a distrust for men, the fear that they would use a woman then leave her. Nothing was vulgar, but it is discussed throughout almost the entire book.
A quote that stood out to me -
“And if I loved my husband as I said I did, then I needed to comfort him. That is when I began to understand that he was only a man—a very good man who loved me, but a man nevertheless. He was not God. So I stopped trying to make him the god of my life, expecting him to bring me healing, and started expecting perfect love and satisfaction from God alone.”
*I received this book for my honest review from BookLook Bloggers*
What is your favorite medieval story?
Amanda, I never read book reviews except on your blog (for the most part) I really love how you do yours though. Thank you for doing them. I know so many people that will tell me how great a book is and then I read it only to find that it isn't even worth finishing.
ReplyDelete@ Salinn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouraging comment! :) It makes me want all the more to be sure that I point out everything in a book that might be helpful for others. :)