What do you think?
Rate this book
QUISTA: Book One: Danay
Danay is an outsider on the water planet of Uma’Three. She’s too tall, too thin, she doesn’t have second lungs, and the water dries out her skin to the point she has to wear a reversed wet’skn just to survive.
When her Nan’Dah gives her a coming of age bracelet on her fifteenth birthday, she knows she won’t get a courtship pearl from anyone. She’s happy enough when the one boy she likes mysteriously returns after being gone for a whole Turn, but she isn’t surprised to discover he’s more interested in her best friend. That is … until he sees her bracelet. The braid has Danay’s pet name woven into it. Par’mida: ‘Precious One’ her Nan’Dah says. Phillip seems to think it means something different and now he won’t leave Danay’s side.
Something doesn’t seem right. Phillip is nervous around officials and he can’t answer any of her questions. And then the Emperor’s fleet arrives to perform loyalty tests. Caught in the middle and branded a traitor, Danay is swept into a secretive rebellion. When her best friend is taken by the Emperor’s men, Danay will have to learn that only she has the power to save the ones she loves.
When her Nan’Dah gives her a coming of age bracelet on her fifteenth birthday, she knows she won’t get a courtship pearl from anyone. She’s happy enough when the one boy she likes mysteriously returns after being gone for a whole Turn, but she isn’t surprised to discover he’s more interested in her best friend. That is … until he sees her bracelet. The braid has Danay’s pet name woven into it. Par’mida: ‘Precious One’ her Nan’Dah says. Phillip seems to think it means something different and now he won’t leave Danay’s side.
Something doesn’t seem right. Phillip is nervous around officials and he can’t answer any of her questions. And then the Emperor’s fleet arrives to perform loyalty tests. Caught in the middle and branded a traitor, Danay is swept into a secretive rebellion. When her best friend is taken by the Emperor’s men, Danay will have to learn that only she has the power to save the ones she loves.
- GenresScience FictionCanada
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 9, 2016
About the author
Aviva Bel'Harold
9 books30 followersAuthor of Safe, Blood Matters and a few more.
I am many things; a writer, a mother, a wife, a dachshund lover, a sister, a daughter, a friend, an author. There isn’t anything on this list I could say I love more or that gives me more joy than the rest. I will fight to the death for my family, as I would fight to the end to give my books their best chance, as I will do everything in my power to provide my dogs the best care, as I have dropped everything to comfort a friend or help out my sister, mother or children (and I'd do it again).
Just as I write rich and engaging stories full of dynamic characters and fascinating ideas and places, I am as equally diverse: filled with a life of amazing and strange adventures.
Though I consider myself a YA author, and thus far I’ve kept my writing within that category, I have not limited my books to any one sub-genre, I've written from drama to horror to sci-fi and beyond.
However, writing didn’t come easy for me. I have several learning challenges and I've had to find ways around them. However, I was fuelled by my passion to tell people about the worlds and characters I am in love with.
For more about me look me up on Facebook: http//www.facebook.com/AvivaBelHarold
I am many things; a writer, a mother, a wife, a dachshund lover, a sister, a daughter, a friend, an author. There isn’t anything on this list I could say I love more or that gives me more joy than the rest. I will fight to the death for my family, as I would fight to the end to give my books their best chance, as I will do everything in my power to provide my dogs the best care, as I have dropped everything to comfort a friend or help out my sister, mother or children (and I'd do it again).
Just as I write rich and engaging stories full of dynamic characters and fascinating ideas and places, I am as equally diverse: filled with a life of amazing and strange adventures.
Though I consider myself a YA author, and thus far I’ve kept my writing within that category, I have not limited my books to any one sub-genre, I've written from drama to horror to sci-fi and beyond.
However, writing didn’t come easy for me. I have several learning challenges and I've had to find ways around them. However, I was fuelled by my passion to tell people about the worlds and characters I am in love with.
For more about me look me up on Facebook: http//www.facebook.com/AvivaBelHarold
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 31, 2016
Quista is a wonderful book where you meet a girl named Danay. She lives in a wild, watery, magical world where she doesn't fit in. She's too skinny and only has one best friend. What would you do for your best friend? Danay is posed with a dilemma to save her friend from the Emperor who has picked her best friend Kit to be his newest bride (a position that no one has ever survived before) or to remain hidden on the planet that she doesn't fit into. This book is a definite re-read book.
August 2, 2018
Quista is a very strange star system. It has three suns, a dozen planets and over fifty moons. The Emperor holds it all together with magic.
Danay is an outcast on the mostly water planet of Uma'Three. It is literally a piece of a larger planet, along with Uma'One, Two and Four. She is too tall, too thin and she doesn't have a second set of lungs, like everyone else.
Danay wears a Coming of Age bracelet, which, in the local language, says "Precious One". In another language, it says something totally different. Phillip, a boy that Danay secretly likes, suddenly returns after being away for a long time. He now won't leave her side.
The Emperor's troops arrive to perform loyalty tests. Phillip tells Danay that she has to leave now, but can't answer her questions. Eventually, Danay learns the other translation of her bracelet, and she learns the real identity of her mother, who she never knew. Danay finds herself in the middle of a growing rebellion.
The author does and excellent with this Young Adult novel, from the characters to the story to the society-building. Young people will love this story; adults will, too.
Danay is an outcast on the mostly water planet of Uma'Three. It is literally a piece of a larger planet, along with Uma'One, Two and Four. She is too tall, too thin and she doesn't have a second set of lungs, like everyone else.
Danay wears a Coming of Age bracelet, which, in the local language, says "Precious One". In another language, it says something totally different. Phillip, a boy that Danay secretly likes, suddenly returns after being away for a long time. He now won't leave her side.
The Emperor's troops arrive to perform loyalty tests. Phillip tells Danay that she has to leave now, but can't answer her questions. Eventually, Danay learns the other translation of her bracelet, and she learns the real identity of her mother, who she never knew. Danay finds herself in the middle of a growing rebellion.
The author does and excellent with this Young Adult novel, from the characters to the story to the society-building. Young people will love this story; adults will, too.
December 15, 2018
An interesting world, unexpected characters, and a well-paced plot.
I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it, and it held my interest.
Recommend for young teens: 13-15.
(First non-audio book read since my concussion. Yay!)
I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it, and it held my interest.
Recommend for young teens: 13-15.
(First non-audio book read since my concussion. Yay!)
April 5, 2019
This author kept me guessing throughout the twist and turns set before her main character.
September 27, 2016
I read enough YA books that I am comfortable with their literary shortcomings and can enjoy them for what they are, entertainment. Some of them even blow my mind with their complexity. So I couldn’t figure out why I was disappointed in this book at first. I read it all the way through and even enjoyed it on a certain level. The characters were likable, the world was interesting.
Finally, it dawned on me that what makes this book a three star YA read, in fact, makes it a solid four or more star middle-grade book! If I were the author, I would shorten the book and recast it in that light...but I'm not. :) Instead, I am just going to recommend it to my friends with kids in that age group because the characters come across as if they are no more mature than any thirteen year old, and the same goes for the convenience of the situations and the basic messaging of the story itself.
It is not a bad story or book, by any means. This works for kids. Even with some of the more violent scenes, this is a good book for your tween/early teen’s bookshelf.
Buy it for your kids, the worlds Danay and her friends inhabit are truly magical. As she discovers her true destiny and the abilities that go along with it, she also must face her fears and a cosmic enemy that seems unbeatable, even with her friends at her side.
A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review and more at annevolmering.com.
Finally, it dawned on me that what makes this book a three star YA read, in fact, makes it a solid four or more star middle-grade book! If I were the author, I would shorten the book and recast it in that light...but I'm not. :) Instead, I am just going to recommend it to my friends with kids in that age group because the characters come across as if they are no more mature than any thirteen year old, and the same goes for the convenience of the situations and the basic messaging of the story itself.
It is not a bad story or book, by any means. This works for kids. Even with some of the more violent scenes, this is a good book for your tween/early teen’s bookshelf.
Buy it for your kids, the worlds Danay and her friends inhabit are truly magical. As she discovers her true destiny and the abilities that go along with it, she also must face her fears and a cosmic enemy that seems unbeatable, even with her friends at her side.
A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review and more at annevolmering.com.
August 8, 2016
Of the books I've won in LibraryThing giveaways, this is the first that was good enough to actually read to completion.
Overall, the world-building was interesting, and the first bit of the book up to the spaceship was pretty strong. The middle bits, especially in regards the character jef and related drama, were unconvincing. Other than the main character saying some things about knowing him in the past (and liking him I guess because of an old friend of hers, and because of her own insecurity), Jef is basically repulsive. None of the scenes he is in make the main character look good, nor are they convincing.
The ending takes us into some pretty intense and graphic scenes just to demonstrate the Emperor is scary, but we don't get the point of why he is doing what he is doing in this book. Other than that, the ending was somewhat unsatisfying, probably because this is the first book of a series and apparently the author felt much had to be left unexplained and unresolved because of this. But other series I've read haven't left me as unsatisfied with an episode ending.
Anyway, as YA fiction goes, it is alright. But I've read a lot better characters in other YA fiction. 3 stars for world building, 1 star for the lack of depth and shallowness of all but the main character, 2 stars for plot satisfaction = 2 star rating.
Overall, the world-building was interesting, and the first bit of the book up to the spaceship was pretty strong. The middle bits, especially in regards the character jef and related drama, were unconvincing. Other than the main character saying some things about knowing him in the past (and liking him I guess because of an old friend of hers, and because of her own insecurity), Jef is basically repulsive. None of the scenes he is in make the main character look good, nor are they convincing.
The ending takes us into some pretty intense and graphic scenes just to demonstrate the Emperor is scary, but we don't get the point of why he is doing what he is doing in this book. Other than that, the ending was somewhat unsatisfying, probably because this is the first book of a series and apparently the author felt much had to be left unexplained and unresolved because of this. But other series I've read haven't left me as unsatisfied with an episode ending.
Anyway, as YA fiction goes, it is alright. But I've read a lot better characters in other YA fiction. 3 stars for world building, 1 star for the lack of depth and shallowness of all but the main character, 2 stars for plot satisfaction = 2 star rating.
May 12, 2016
If teen sci-fi/fantasy with a splash of romance is your jam, then Quista Book One: Danay is sitting firmly in your wheelhouse.
Our story takes place in a lovingly crafted solar system, the stage set for one tremendous space opera. Early on we meet Danay and her community and get a chance to empathize with her struggles of adolescence in a fantastical, otherworld setting. Soon however, things go awry and peril looms (as it often does in fiction), and Danay needs to grasp quickly how important those around her will be to the challenges that await her. Of course, this includes the adolescent challenges of sorting out the emotions she has associated with specific individuals - that's right, the teen fiction classic conundrum of multiple suitors.
I have been reading Aviva's stories for a while, and they just keep getting better. Quista was a fun, light read - plenty of examples of foreshadowing - that I would definitely suggest as a weekend companion. Or better yet, a delightful way to give a young person in your life the space story bug and get them hooked.
Our story takes place in a lovingly crafted solar system, the stage set for one tremendous space opera. Early on we meet Danay and her community and get a chance to empathize with her struggles of adolescence in a fantastical, otherworld setting. Soon however, things go awry and peril looms (as it often does in fiction), and Danay needs to grasp quickly how important those around her will be to the challenges that await her. Of course, this includes the adolescent challenges of sorting out the emotions she has associated with specific individuals - that's right, the teen fiction classic conundrum of multiple suitors.
I have been reading Aviva's stories for a while, and they just keep getting better. Quista was a fun, light read - plenty of examples of foreshadowing - that I would definitely suggest as a weekend companion. Or better yet, a delightful way to give a young person in your life the space story bug and get them hooked.
May 14, 2016
What can I say without giving this book away?
This is a fantastic YA sci-fi/fantasy, filled with mystery, intrigue, action and secrets.
I can tell you I truly enjoyed the journey so far. I loved everything about the commence of this series. The characters became alive in my mind so effortlessly, all because Aviva has a way to make her characters, their world seem so vivid… she knows how to engage the reader with her words, I felt I was one of the gang, I was part of their world, following them like a shadow.
I read the story in one sitting as it engaged me from the mere beginning, I was hooked and taken by what was going on. I needed to know what would happen. Who was who, and who to believe and trust.
Quista is a fun read for teens as adults alike. Even if fantasy or Sci-fi aren’t your thing, try this out as I’m sure you will enjoy this well written story.
This is a fantastic YA sci-fi/fantasy, filled with mystery, intrigue, action and secrets.
I can tell you I truly enjoyed the journey so far. I loved everything about the commence of this series. The characters became alive in my mind so effortlessly, all because Aviva has a way to make her characters, their world seem so vivid… she knows how to engage the reader with her words, I felt I was one of the gang, I was part of their world, following them like a shadow.
I read the story in one sitting as it engaged me from the mere beginning, I was hooked and taken by what was going on. I needed to know what would happen. Who was who, and who to believe and trust.
Quista is a fun read for teens as adults alike. Even if fantasy or Sci-fi aren’t your thing, try this out as I’m sure you will enjoy this well written story.
May 14, 2016
What an amazing journey.
It was such an easy book to disappear into. I found myself loving and hating characters quickly. It was easy to visualize the landscapes & creatures. More than once I found myself wishing I could turn it into a movie. I cried a few times while it reminded me of parts of my childhood. I came out craving more.
Now I must wait for book 2. :(
The only thing that clashed for me, was the cover. The Danay on the cover doesn't come anywhere near what my visuals for the girl are. My Danay is older, more feminine, and less child like.
She doesn't appear childlike in the story. Nor is she an adult. Ahhhh, So good! SOOO GOOD!
It was such an easy book to disappear into. I found myself loving and hating characters quickly. It was easy to visualize the landscapes & creatures. More than once I found myself wishing I could turn it into a movie. I cried a few times while it reminded me of parts of my childhood. I came out craving more.
Now I must wait for book 2. :(
The only thing that clashed for me, was the cover. The Danay on the cover doesn't come anywhere near what my visuals for the girl are. My Danay is older, more feminine, and less child like.
She doesn't appear childlike in the story. Nor is she an adult. Ahhhh, So good! SOOO GOOD!
July 2, 2016
This is a book I received for free from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
This is also a book I had to struggle to finish.
The characters were not well developed, the plot was predictable, and the fictional world was a strange mish-mash of science and fantasy that had me scratching my head.
This book might appeal to younger readers who like the "Who, me, a princess?" plot, but I don't think this book is the best example of the genre.
This is also a book I had to struggle to finish.
The characters were not well developed, the plot was predictable, and the fictional world was a strange mish-mash of science and fantasy that had me scratching my head.
This book might appeal to younger readers who like the "Who, me, a princess?" plot, but I don't think this book is the best example of the genre.
Read
August 2, 2016Better than I expected and very easy to read. Aimed at a young teenage audience, the characters could be more complex and less predictable (this goes for the plot also). The ending appeared rushed, but the magic was fun and quirky. I enjoyed some of the abnormal animals and I hope further books in the series will feature more on these
April 8, 2025
This novel is aimed at teens, a sci-fi/romance coming of age tale. The worlds were interesting with fascinating creatures inhabiting them. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. A fun read nevertheless.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews