By: Laura Whitcomb
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was creatively written and easy to follow. On the other hand, I was a bit put off by the general message of the story, which wasn't expressed until the very end of the book.
Calder, our Fetch protagonist, is a very likable and empathetic character. He has a good heart and a humble spirit. He feels unworthy of his job, yet he prods on and does what he was trained to do. The reader can't help but like the guy. He thinks he has fallen in love with a human, so he breaks his holy vows and swaps places with a human who is close with the woman he thinks he loves. From this horrific mistake to the end of the story, Calder tries to rectify what he's done and it takes the entire book for him to finally make amends with his mistake. Then, and here's where I have mixed feelings, instead of being punished or even reprimanded for his huge transgression, he is generously rewarded. To me, this implies that even in Heaven one can do whatever one wants, without fear of punishment. If that were the case, there could be anarchy in Heaven as every celestial being took it upon himself to do whatever he wants, and whenever. I just didn't think the ending was appropriate, but I still enjoyed the book overall.
One of the things that I think would enhance the reader's experience of this book is if s/he knew a litle bit about the Russian royal family before beginning to read this book. It certainly isn't necessary to know anything about them in order to understand the story, but I think the reader would enjoy this book more if s/he knew just a few basic facts about the Romanov family and, especially, Rasputin (and his many "assination" attempts!) To wit: 1) Why Alexis was so important to this family, 2) The signifigance of his illness, 3) The execution of the family, 4) Why Ana and Alexis were presumably selected out of the 5 Romnanov children. A quick Google search would suffice, as it is not necessary to study the family in depth, but just a quick preview of the lives of the royal children and Rasputin's character.
The back of this book indicates that it is a book for teens, but I hesitate to recommend it to teenagers. Not because there is anything inappropriate in it (because there isn't) but the theme seems a bit heavy and, just because the main characters are teenagers, doesn't mean a teenager will like the story. My 16 year old daugher simply couldn't get into this book....she was bored and confused by the historical signifigance of the story.
Overall, I found this book to be creative and easy flowing. I finished it in 2 days.
