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Keara's Raven #1
Escape
I take your rebellion. Forget it. It is mine.
In the sheltered village of Silver Hollow, Keara knows exactly what she must do: Follow her mother’s strict rules and worship the twelve gods. But Keara’s twelfth birthday is looming, along with an obligation she dreads. She must sacrifice her beloved darkbeast on a holy altar.
Other children despise their bonded scapegoat animals, but Keara loves her raven, Caw. He’s her only friend, the sole creature who understands her headstrong ways.
When a traveling theater troupe passes through the village, Keara glimpses a way to escape. But the Great Road comes with its own dangers, including dread Inquisitor priests who hunt down heretics.
Will Keara find the strength to flee the only home she’s ever known? Or will she be forced to slay her closest friend on the altar of the gods?
The Keara's Raven Series includes:
Keara's Raven: Escape
Keara's Raven: Betrayal
In the sheltered village of Silver Hollow, Keara knows exactly what she must do: Follow her mother’s strict rules and worship the twelve gods. But Keara’s twelfth birthday is looming, along with an obligation she dreads. She must sacrifice her beloved darkbeast on a holy altar.
Other children despise their bonded scapegoat animals, but Keara loves her raven, Caw. He’s her only friend, the sole creature who understands her headstrong ways.
When a traveling theater troupe passes through the village, Keara glimpses a way to escape. But the Great Road comes with its own dangers, including dread Inquisitor priests who hunt down heretics.
Will Keara find the strength to flee the only home she’s ever known? Or will she be forced to slay her closest friend on the altar of the gods?
The Keara's Raven Series includes:
Keara's Raven: Escape
Keara's Raven: Betrayal
- GenresMiddle Grade
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2013
25 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Mindy Klasky
111 books541 followersMindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her that she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice.
Mindy's travels took her through multiple careers, including copyright lawyer and law librarian. Mindy now writes full time. Her books fall in a number of genres -- including romantic comedies, paranormal romance, and traditional fantasy.
In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame the endless to-be-read shelf in her home library. Her husband and two cats do their best to fill the left-over minutes in her days.
Mindy's travels took her through multiple careers, including copyright lawyer and law librarian. Mindy now writes full time. Her books fall in a number of genres -- including romantic comedies, paranormal romance, and traditional fantasy.
In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame the endless to-be-read shelf in her home library. Her husband and two cats do their best to fill the left-over minutes in her days.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 22, 2019
Author Mindy Klasky masterfully builds a world that could be set in the medieval period. It comes complete with a specific set of rituals and 12 primordial gods who are connected to various earth bound elements. The story centers on Keara and begins just before her twelfth birthday, which is marked by a rite of passage. She must sacrifice her darkbeast to enter into adulthood. Since she was an infant, Her darkbeast has taken on all of her faults and has been her faithful guide throughout childhood. However, Keara has developed an unusual bond of affection with her darkbeast. When she decides to go against tradition, she leaves town, joins a performance troupe and eventually finds herself at the capital with the troupe performing a brand new play. Here, she is faced once again with tradition and society’s requirement to kill her darkbeast or risk being lost forever.
The storyline is familiar and promises much, but the central character, Keara, doesn’t possess any real heroic qualities. She has a propensity for lying. Eventually, she is forced to tell the truth, rather than choose to tell the truth. She is portrayed as jealous, rebellious, and, of course, having an affinity for lying. She possesses these qualities despite her darkbeast’s council and guidance throughout her life.
An overarching theme in this story is the idea that we are human and we will never be perfect, but we can strive to be better. Only, I didn’t really see Keara striving to be better. How could she? Her entire existence in the performance troupe is built on a foundation of dishonesty and rebellion. Furthermore, except for her decisions to run away from home and join the troupe, she comes across as a generally passive character who makes constant excuses for her behavior.
Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe I don’t really get what the author is trying to do with this story. While I do think the foundation of the story is solid, the character, Keara, needs to be a more driving force within the story. In its current state, the story doesn’t really hinge on a single decision she makes. The ending, I have no doubt, would have occurred whether Keara was there to witness it or not. In short, the story needs to depend upon every decision she makes. It needs to be Keara’s story. Instead, the story is told by a rebellious preteen who, out of fascination, escapes her home town, abandons her mother, and decides to travel with a troupe dedicated to performing, ironically, holy plays about the gods.
The storyline is familiar and promises much, but the central character, Keara, doesn’t possess any real heroic qualities. She has a propensity for lying. Eventually, she is forced to tell the truth, rather than choose to tell the truth. She is portrayed as jealous, rebellious, and, of course, having an affinity for lying. She possesses these qualities despite her darkbeast’s council and guidance throughout her life.
An overarching theme in this story is the idea that we are human and we will never be perfect, but we can strive to be better. Only, I didn’t really see Keara striving to be better. How could she? Her entire existence in the performance troupe is built on a foundation of dishonesty and rebellion. Furthermore, except for her decisions to run away from home and join the troupe, she comes across as a generally passive character who makes constant excuses for her behavior.
Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe I don’t really get what the author is trying to do with this story. While I do think the foundation of the story is solid, the character, Keara, needs to be a more driving force within the story. In its current state, the story doesn’t really hinge on a single decision she makes. The ending, I have no doubt, would have occurred whether Keara was there to witness it or not. In short, the story needs to depend upon every decision she makes. It needs to be Keara’s story. Instead, the story is told by a rebellious preteen who, out of fascination, escapes her home town, abandons her mother, and decides to travel with a troupe dedicated to performing, ironically, holy plays about the gods.
July 25, 2019
I loved the theory of a dark beast and created a good outline of the world they live in. A simple and easy-to-follow read so will probably see what the next book offers too. Nothing groundbreaking but a good book.
It would have been beneficial to include a introductory list of the 12 Gods to refer back to.
It would have been beneficial to include a introductory list of the 12 Gods to refer back to.
October 7, 2020
This novel is so slow. I found it very hard to get into. Though I liked the concept of 'Darkbeasts', their ritual death wasn't well described and overall the plot seemed bumbling. It wasn't clear what our protagonist wanted, and she was ultimately not saved by her own agency. Sadly, a cool concept not fully actualised.
January 20, 2020
If you like Tamora Pierce's work, you're quite likely to enjoy this tale as well.
The world and its customs are very well thought out and I definitely want to learn more about them, as well as Keara's adventures.
The world and its customs are very well thought out and I definitely want to learn more about them, as well as Keara's adventures.
February 25, 2019
The main character, Keara, is great. I was able to connect with her very easily. I love the idea of a dark beast. The story is well written. I found it very hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews