Review by SomeoneInTheWorld -- The World of Ato
Posted: 19 Oct 2019, 07:35
[Following is a volunteer review of "The World of Ato" by Patrick Borosky.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Ato is a young girl and a talented artist. She is one of the few people who are able not only to draw a beautiful painting, but also to breathe life into it. She creates new worlds on the canvas, and they look so vivid it seems like they might turn into reality at any moment. This is usually said as a metaphor, but not in this case. When a dragon-friend named Iro releases his azure flames and brings one of her paintings to life, Ato is going to find out what happens when worlds collide.
Ato's drawing is magical, and so is Borosky's writing. His descriptions are as vivid as Ato's paintings, and I'm sure that if Iro could breathe his azure flames on them they would come to life too. The author has a way with words that teleports you right into the story, making you forget about space and time and just drown into the book.
In his book, "The world of Ato", Patrick Borosky leads us through an amazing journey, with wonderful characters that make it even better. The characters are extremely well-depicted. Each one of them is profoundly developed, relatable, and unique. The relationships between them are aptly narrated, and you can literally feel the strong bond they have with each other, as well as the tension and awkwardness between the couples-to-be. In addition to their shared journey, each one of them has a personal journey to grow through: Ato discovers the world besides her paintings and for the first time confronts the possibility that her missing parents might be dead; Reed seems like a carefree boy at first, but by the end of the book he has to deal with his feelings and insecurities; Ferrin has to let go of everything he was taught about the world; Violet is free to be herself for the first time in her life; and Finnick, a child-king, gets out of his castle after years of captivity and has to deal with betrayals from the people he trusted and with the loss of his parents, but now he has friends to help him go through it.
Through the characters' journey, the author manages to deliver some very powerful messages. The book addresses painful topics such as loss of parents, depression and loneliness, and offers some helpful insights. I admire the writer's ability to not only create a breathtaking story, but also to integrate empowering messages in it.
I'm also impressed with how the author uses fiction to draw parallels and highlight the wrongs of our society. Problems like poverty, homelessness, prejudice and cruelty are present in the imaginary world as well as in ours. Here and there, lessons need to be learned.
One message I particularly like, and I feel like I have to write more about it, is delivered through Violet's story. Violet is a witch. She was born with magic. She was given a special gift, and she used it only for the greater good. She never hurt anyone, but in spite of that people hate her since she was a child. She never abused her power, and the only time she used it was to save a little girl. But still, when dark creatures named "scarred" are threatening the kingdom, she is the immediate suspect of summoning them. She is sentenced to death without even being judged by a court. But the scarred are not her doing, they are the doing of someone who fed and used the stereotypes and rumors about witches in order to get away with his crime. And that's the point: rumors and stereotypes do not just exist. There are people who want them to exist, people who feed and encourage them because they have something to gain from it. And the moment you believe these stereotypes, the moment you start thinking of some people like monsters just because someone told you that's what they are, the moment you let yourself be cruel to them just because somebody told you it's OK, you become a pawn in an evil game. You contribute to an endless cycle of cruelty. Whether you are an adult who is racist through an ethnic group, or a child/teen who abuses his classmate just because the popular kids do that, this is the same mechanism of being cruel to someone just because somebody said so. It's a cycle that needs to be broken. And it can be, if someone just steps out of it and treats the people who suffer from it like the human beings they are. This is what Ato does, and that leads me to what is in my opinion one of the best qualities in the book.
Along the book, Ato reminds us of eternal truths that are usually crystal clear to us as children, but tend to be forgotten as we grow up. We see how Ato believes in herself, follows her heart, and never loses hope. We see how trivial these things are for Ato, but they don't always stay so clear as we grow up. They may seem naive to our adult-selves, but sometimes, a little naivety is just what we need. Ato also reminds us to listen to each other, and to speak up when we see injustice. I feel that more than anything, the book inspires us to be better people, since it shows how one person, no matter of what age or power, can make the difference between darkness and light.
For all these reasons, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I dislike about the book. This is a breathtaking story, wrapped in a beautiful writing, and accompanied by a good editing. There were some minor errors, but nothing serious. I think this book will appeal to children and adults alike, and I recommend it to everyone.
******
The World of Ato
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
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Ato is a young girl and a talented artist. She is one of the few people who are able not only to draw a beautiful painting, but also to breathe life into it. She creates new worlds on the canvas, and they look so vivid it seems like they might turn into reality at any moment. This is usually said as a metaphor, but not in this case. When a dragon-friend named Iro releases his azure flames and brings one of her paintings to life, Ato is going to find out what happens when worlds collide.
Ato's drawing is magical, and so is Borosky's writing. His descriptions are as vivid as Ato's paintings, and I'm sure that if Iro could breathe his azure flames on them they would come to life too. The author has a way with words that teleports you right into the story, making you forget about space and time and just drown into the book.
In his book, "The world of Ato", Patrick Borosky leads us through an amazing journey, with wonderful characters that make it even better. The characters are extremely well-depicted. Each one of them is profoundly developed, relatable, and unique. The relationships between them are aptly narrated, and you can literally feel the strong bond they have with each other, as well as the tension and awkwardness between the couples-to-be. In addition to their shared journey, each one of them has a personal journey to grow through: Ato discovers the world besides her paintings and for the first time confronts the possibility that her missing parents might be dead; Reed seems like a carefree boy at first, but by the end of the book he has to deal with his feelings and insecurities; Ferrin has to let go of everything he was taught about the world; Violet is free to be herself for the first time in her life; and Finnick, a child-king, gets out of his castle after years of captivity and has to deal with betrayals from the people he trusted and with the loss of his parents, but now he has friends to help him go through it.
Through the characters' journey, the author manages to deliver some very powerful messages. The book addresses painful topics such as loss of parents, depression and loneliness, and offers some helpful insights. I admire the writer's ability to not only create a breathtaking story, but also to integrate empowering messages in it.
I'm also impressed with how the author uses fiction to draw parallels and highlight the wrongs of our society. Problems like poverty, homelessness, prejudice and cruelty are present in the imaginary world as well as in ours. Here and there, lessons need to be learned.
One message I particularly like, and I feel like I have to write more about it, is delivered through Violet's story. Violet is a witch. She was born with magic. She was given a special gift, and she used it only for the greater good. She never hurt anyone, but in spite of that people hate her since she was a child. She never abused her power, and the only time she used it was to save a little girl. But still, when dark creatures named "scarred" are threatening the kingdom, she is the immediate suspect of summoning them. She is sentenced to death without even being judged by a court. But the scarred are not her doing, they are the doing of someone who fed and used the stereotypes and rumors about witches in order to get away with his crime. And that's the point: rumors and stereotypes do not just exist. There are people who want them to exist, people who feed and encourage them because they have something to gain from it. And the moment you believe these stereotypes, the moment you start thinking of some people like monsters just because someone told you that's what they are, the moment you let yourself be cruel to them just because somebody told you it's OK, you become a pawn in an evil game. You contribute to an endless cycle of cruelty. Whether you are an adult who is racist through an ethnic group, or a child/teen who abuses his classmate just because the popular kids do that, this is the same mechanism of being cruel to someone just because somebody said so. It's a cycle that needs to be broken. And it can be, if someone just steps out of it and treats the people who suffer from it like the human beings they are. This is what Ato does, and that leads me to what is in my opinion one of the best qualities in the book.
Along the book, Ato reminds us of eternal truths that are usually crystal clear to us as children, but tend to be forgotten as we grow up. We see how Ato believes in herself, follows her heart, and never loses hope. We see how trivial these things are for Ato, but they don't always stay so clear as we grow up. They may seem naive to our adult-selves, but sometimes, a little naivety is just what we need. Ato also reminds us to listen to each other, and to speak up when we see injustice. I feel that more than anything, the book inspires us to be better people, since it shows how one person, no matter of what age or power, can make the difference between darkness and light.
For all these reasons, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I dislike about the book. This is a breathtaking story, wrapped in a beautiful writing, and accompanied by a good editing. There were some minor errors, but nothing serious. I think this book will appeal to children and adults alike, and I recommend it to everyone.
******
The World of Ato
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon