Review by Bookreviwer2020 -- Awakening by Tayma Tameem
Posted: 03 Dec 2020, 16:10
[Following is a volunteer review of "Awakening" by Tayma Tameem.]
Power is a curse and a gift.
It is a responsibility. p385
Imagine two sisters, two princesses, each with their special character and personality. They have a strong sisterly love and bond. Katja is the oldest of the two, and she is the most caring and selfless of them, worrying about and taking good care of her younger sister Amara. There is something different about Amara however, she does not cry when she is born and it is then found that she is possessed by an ancient spirit, the spirit of winter, as the story says. This gives her powers to create ice statues and freeze things, yet she does not seem in control of her powers, not just yet. When angry she may react and freeze things without too much thought. For this reason, she needs to be trained and taught to use her powers in the right way.
Awakening by Tayma Tameem is written in the third person and switches between the past and the present. The past begins with the childhood and birth of the princesses, up until the present time, in which one of the princesses has awoken in a faraway place without any memory of who she is or where she is from. Yet, others seem to know more than her, and she learns about herself through them. Who is lady snow that everyone seems afraid of? Is she her sister? Should she return to the castle to face her? The book has 420 pages and is part of the fantasy genre. It covers themes such as love, sorrow, regret, war, anger, revenge and the misuse of power. The ending gave me the impression there will be a sequel.
I enjoyed reading the book because it was well-written and seemed professionally edited. I only came across two possible mistakes in the book. It was also a read that I found kept me engaged and I found it hard to put down. There were many twists and turns to keep the reader attentive. I found the characters to be well-developed and easy to identify with. I liked the strong theme of love that seemed to be throughout the story. This began with the strong love of Katja for her sister, and it is even found amongst strangers. I like the fact that it was love and kindness that finally overcame the anger and bitterness of lady snow and perhaps melted her heart. Similarly, the whole idea that anger destroys and it is better to forgive, as well as the idea that any power that we have is a blessing, and instead of using it to destroy and tyrannise people, we should be using it to help others and be in their service for the greater good. I found these were beautiful themes and teachings interwoven throughout the story.
I guess the main negative issue with the book was that it did have quite a few scenes of war, fighting, killing, and violence. As a sensitive person, I felt affected by such scenes. When parents, relatives and other good people were being killed, I felt along with the protagonist. Reading about people having their throats slit and people covered in blood made me cringe. Possibly this was because the writer had done a good job of explaining it, to help us identify with the characters. I did not see the need to reduce a star for this, however.
Due to the above, I decided to give the book four out of four stars. It was very well written, and I enjoyed reading it. As mentioned above I also appreciated the themes throughout the story.
It would suit people who enjoy fantasy stories, science fiction and novels that have strong themes of love and friendship.
I think the violence and killing scenes may affect sensitive readers and for this same reason, I don't recommend it to younger readers.
******
Awakening
View: on Bookshelves
Power is a curse and a gift.
It is a responsibility. p385
Imagine two sisters, two princesses, each with their special character and personality. They have a strong sisterly love and bond. Katja is the oldest of the two, and she is the most caring and selfless of them, worrying about and taking good care of her younger sister Amara. There is something different about Amara however, she does not cry when she is born and it is then found that she is possessed by an ancient spirit, the spirit of winter, as the story says. This gives her powers to create ice statues and freeze things, yet she does not seem in control of her powers, not just yet. When angry she may react and freeze things without too much thought. For this reason, she needs to be trained and taught to use her powers in the right way.
Awakening by Tayma Tameem is written in the third person and switches between the past and the present. The past begins with the childhood and birth of the princesses, up until the present time, in which one of the princesses has awoken in a faraway place without any memory of who she is or where she is from. Yet, others seem to know more than her, and she learns about herself through them. Who is lady snow that everyone seems afraid of? Is she her sister? Should she return to the castle to face her? The book has 420 pages and is part of the fantasy genre. It covers themes such as love, sorrow, regret, war, anger, revenge and the misuse of power. The ending gave me the impression there will be a sequel.
I enjoyed reading the book because it was well-written and seemed professionally edited. I only came across two possible mistakes in the book. It was also a read that I found kept me engaged and I found it hard to put down. There were many twists and turns to keep the reader attentive. I found the characters to be well-developed and easy to identify with. I liked the strong theme of love that seemed to be throughout the story. This began with the strong love of Katja for her sister, and it is even found amongst strangers. I like the fact that it was love and kindness that finally overcame the anger and bitterness of lady snow and perhaps melted her heart. Similarly, the whole idea that anger destroys and it is better to forgive, as well as the idea that any power that we have is a blessing, and instead of using it to destroy and tyrannise people, we should be using it to help others and be in their service for the greater good. I found these were beautiful themes and teachings interwoven throughout the story.
I guess the main negative issue with the book was that it did have quite a few scenes of war, fighting, killing, and violence. As a sensitive person, I felt affected by such scenes. When parents, relatives and other good people were being killed, I felt along with the protagonist. Reading about people having their throats slit and people covered in blood made me cringe. Possibly this was because the writer had done a good job of explaining it, to help us identify with the characters. I did not see the need to reduce a star for this, however.
Due to the above, I decided to give the book four out of four stars. It was very well written, and I enjoyed reading it. As mentioned above I also appreciated the themes throughout the story.
It would suit people who enjoy fantasy stories, science fiction and novels that have strong themes of love and friendship.
I think the violence and killing scenes may affect sensitive readers and for this same reason, I don't recommend it to younger readers.
******
Awakening
View: on Bookshelves