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Giften
A BLIGHTED LAND
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
A GIFT
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
A SINISTER REGIME
In the City lurks a dark army, intent on hunting Giften to harness their power, destroying all who stand in their way. With the threat growing ever stronger, Ruthie and her friends must leave behind all they have ever known and embark on a quest that will pitch them towards the City, and unknowable danger. One way or another, a battle is coming.
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
A GIFT
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
A SINISTER REGIME
In the City lurks a dark army, intent on hunting Giften to harness their power, destroying all who stand in their way. With the threat growing ever stronger, Ruthie and her friends must leave behind all they have ever known and embark on a quest that will pitch them towards the City, and unknowable danger. One way or another, a battle is coming.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2023
2 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 18, 2025
This was a pretty decent dystopian YA novel. I liked that it was only one book and not a series, it wrapped itself up pretty effectively.
The plot was a bit slow and the characters a bit underwhelming. I did like the idea of the "gifts" that some characters had, but think the world itself needed some more developing and would benefit from being about 100-150 pages longer.
Also, what does gregious mean?? It's not a word!!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Netgalley, Pushkin Press and the author.
The plot was a bit slow and the characters a bit underwhelming. I did like the idea of the "gifts" that some characters had, but think the world itself needed some more developing and would benefit from being about 100-150 pages longer.
Also, what does gregious mean?? It's not a word!!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Netgalley, Pushkin Press and the author.
November 21, 2022
Giften by Leyla Suzan was a YA dystopian tale with fantasy elements. The premise of the story was interesting, which is what drew me to request it for review, but when I came to read it, it never really captured my heart. That's not to say there was anything at all wrong with it: the story idea worked well, the characters were mostly well presented and the world building and pacing were both fine. I just personally never got fully drawn into the tale; it was okay, but I wasn't blown away. As a note, I would say that I received the book as a ARC and while it downloaded fine onto my computer, when I tried to add it to my e-reader it would always look like it had synced but then not open properly on the device. As such, I had to read it on the computer screen, in between other tasks, rather than relaxed in the evening before bed, so it's fair to say that may have affected my ability to sink properly into the story. However, based on the reading experience I had with it, I am giving it three stars. If you like YA dystopia it's worth checking out.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 25, 2023
The premise is interesting and definitely fits in the dystopian YA. But the execution is lacking.
The writing is clunky and either too descriptive and uses werid imagery (“My hert feels like a piece of dry meat” comes to mind) or it uses strange time jumps, as action just kind of happens without any explaination of how people got there or what led up to it.
The typical use of YA vocabulary is actually not that bad but can be confusing. The book starts in the Field and it’s not clear whether they just refer to every field as “the Field”, until you later find out that the specific community is just called that. I was really bothered by the use of the word “gregious”??? It’s thrown around like an adjective but there is no way to piece together what it’s actually supposed to mean.
Also, the main character is kind of annoying. Her thoughts and her words never coincide, as the first person narrative sways between objectice description and very subjective narration. But the first person that narrates seems to be a very different character to the one that acts. There is also obviously a weird little love-triangle situation that never seems to matter all that much to the book but is made out to be so relevant. There are other annoying things, like a villain that is a littlw useless and a conflict between factions that seems entirely pulled out of thin air, but hey.
It’s an easy enough read and not that demanding and I’m sure it could work on a screen, unfortunately it was a met down on the page. But the story has potential.
The writing is clunky and either too descriptive and uses werid imagery (“My hert feels like a piece of dry meat” comes to mind) or it uses strange time jumps, as action just kind of happens without any explaination of how people got there or what led up to it.
The typical use of YA vocabulary is actually not that bad but can be confusing. The book starts in the Field and it’s not clear whether they just refer to every field as “the Field”, until you later find out that the specific community is just called that. I was really bothered by the use of the word “gregious”??? It’s thrown around like an adjective but there is no way to piece together what it’s actually supposed to mean.
Also, the main character is kind of annoying. Her thoughts and her words never coincide, as the first person narrative sways between objectice description and very subjective narration. But the first person that narrates seems to be a very different character to the one that acts. There is also obviously a weird little love-triangle situation that never seems to matter all that much to the book but is made out to be so relevant. There are other annoying things, like a villain that is a littlw useless and a conflict between factions that seems entirely pulled out of thin air, but hey.
It’s an easy enough read and not that demanding and I’m sure it could work on a screen, unfortunately it was a met down on the page. But the story has potential.
April 11, 2023
Enjoyed this a lot. The end kinda happened abruptly and I wanted that final sentence to expand… possibly book 2?
May 13, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC read!
I enjoyed the writing and concept of this story and early on I thought it had the potential to be a 5-star read for me. The characters and the dystopian world were both interesting. It did however start to drag a little in the middle. I think I would’ve liked this a lot more if there was more history of the world and the various clans of people.
I enjoyed the writing and concept of this story and early on I thought it had the potential to be a 5-star read for me. The characters and the dystopian world were both interesting. It did however start to drag a little in the middle. I think I would’ve liked this a lot more if there was more history of the world and the various clans of people.
September 16, 2021
is an intelligent post-apocalyptic story, with a central core of strong ecological ethics without risking being preachy. The author talks to her audience as people, there is a lack of patronising , or over explanation, which often , in this reader's opinion, detracts from the narrative in Y.A reads.
Whilst acknowledging that I am not the target audience, Y.A books are fascinating to me as a mother of teens, and a pure lover of good story telling-possibly because books like this just didn't exist when I was a teen. In this world, post an event known as The Darkening, communities live isolated and afraid of those who live in The City, those who turn up on a whim and demand an 'Offering'.
These are MAGs, Men And Guns, who take by force and intimidation, as well as by stealth. For the city is pre-occupied with the Giften, the randomly abled young who are of both sexes, and can raise , from dead ground, crops to sustain the living. Keeping these as closely guarded secrets results in the death of all in the community-the one which this novel focusses on is called The Filed, many years have gone into building, and sustaining it, and propagating the crops, whilst telling tales of the times before.
The Field Day celebrations, where the community comes together in The Shed, a meeting place and gathering spot, to celebrate and give thanks for making it through another year, similar to a harvest.
The family of first person narrator, Ruthie, have been devastated by the loss of Dan, Ruthie's father. He and best friend Owen went out on a supply run for Owen to return alone. Owen, literally and metaphorically, takes the place of Dan, stating that he escaped from MAGs whilst Dan was captured. He moves in with Gemma,Ruthie's mother, and Ruthie, bringing his son Seb and before long, she is pregnant and has a son with Owen, named Ant.
Unhappy as she is at the supplanting of her father, worse is to come as Ruthie falls violently ill, to the point of death. Dragging herself out in the middle of horrendous heat, onto the burnt and parched ground, a transformation occurs, Ruthie becomes a Giften. The community come together to be told that they have one in the midst, but not who it is, and so move forward with stealth to keep Ruthie safe and their community from the watchful eyes of MAGs.
But with high prices offered for passing on who is a Giften, the risk is too high to ignore. The enclosed, safe world of the Field needs to be left behind, and.like the hobbits in JRR Tolkien's works, Ruthie, Seb, Dev (another teen boy) and Stace, Ruthie's best friend set out for world beyond their own, in an attempt to meet eth rebel group , The Circle, or to take Ruthie to meet those who live in the Sanctuary.
Being brave is not easy, their entire lives have been lived in such a small place, and under such stringent conditions, but when news of experiments in The City, on Giften, in the attempt to pass this quality onto 'norms', a stand must be made.
It is an epic quest, driven by the voice of Ruthie, which is beautifully interspersed with the oral tradition of these people who pass down the tales and life stories of each other. In so doing, they are keeping an ancient tradition alive, and also laying down future warnings about caring for a world which was plundered to the point of near destruction. Nature fought back in the form of droughts, earthquakes and floods, so it is a brilliant metaphor for change to allude to the transformation from child to adult, that they are the ones who not only activate change, but also to pull growth from the earth. Their lack of greed, and lack of influence by a society which values all the wrong virtues, gives certain teens abilities to bring forth life. They symbolise the future, whereas, the industrial sounding City, seeks to exploit, for their own needs, the gift that these teens have.
Overall, the motif of Giften is that greed will always lead to failure, and that humans have the chance to learn to change, and need to recognise this before time runs out to reverse the damage done in the name of progress.
It is a also an interesting meditation on what story telling means, and how, through division, it is relatively easy for fear and exploitation to prosper.
Whilst acknowledging that I am not the target audience, Y.A books are fascinating to me as a mother of teens, and a pure lover of good story telling-possibly because books like this just didn't exist when I was a teen. In this world, post an event known as The Darkening, communities live isolated and afraid of those who live in The City, those who turn up on a whim and demand an 'Offering'.
These are MAGs, Men And Guns, who take by force and intimidation, as well as by stealth. For the city is pre-occupied with the Giften, the randomly abled young who are of both sexes, and can raise , from dead ground, crops to sustain the living. Keeping these as closely guarded secrets results in the death of all in the community-the one which this novel focusses on is called The Filed, many years have gone into building, and sustaining it, and propagating the crops, whilst telling tales of the times before.
The Field Day celebrations, where the community comes together in The Shed, a meeting place and gathering spot, to celebrate and give thanks for making it through another year, similar to a harvest.
The family of first person narrator, Ruthie, have been devastated by the loss of Dan, Ruthie's father. He and best friend Owen went out on a supply run for Owen to return alone. Owen, literally and metaphorically, takes the place of Dan, stating that he escaped from MAGs whilst Dan was captured. He moves in with Gemma,Ruthie's mother, and Ruthie, bringing his son Seb and before long, she is pregnant and has a son with Owen, named Ant.
Unhappy as she is at the supplanting of her father, worse is to come as Ruthie falls violently ill, to the point of death. Dragging herself out in the middle of horrendous heat, onto the burnt and parched ground, a transformation occurs, Ruthie becomes a Giften. The community come together to be told that they have one in the midst, but not who it is, and so move forward with stealth to keep Ruthie safe and their community from the watchful eyes of MAGs.
But with high prices offered for passing on who is a Giften, the risk is too high to ignore. The enclosed, safe world of the Field needs to be left behind, and.like the hobbits in JRR Tolkien's works, Ruthie, Seb, Dev (another teen boy) and Stace, Ruthie's best friend set out for world beyond their own, in an attempt to meet eth rebel group , The Circle, or to take Ruthie to meet those who live in the Sanctuary.
Being brave is not easy, their entire lives have been lived in such a small place, and under such stringent conditions, but when news of experiments in The City, on Giften, in the attempt to pass this quality onto 'norms', a stand must be made.
It is an epic quest, driven by the voice of Ruthie, which is beautifully interspersed with the oral tradition of these people who pass down the tales and life stories of each other. In so doing, they are keeping an ancient tradition alive, and also laying down future warnings about caring for a world which was plundered to the point of near destruction. Nature fought back in the form of droughts, earthquakes and floods, so it is a brilliant metaphor for change to allude to the transformation from child to adult, that they are the ones who not only activate change, but also to pull growth from the earth. Their lack of greed, and lack of influence by a society which values all the wrong virtues, gives certain teens abilities to bring forth life. They symbolise the future, whereas, the industrial sounding City, seeks to exploit, for their own needs, the gift that these teens have.
Overall, the motif of Giften is that greed will always lead to failure, and that humans have the chance to learn to change, and need to recognise this before time runs out to reverse the damage done in the name of progress.
It is a also an interesting meditation on what story telling means, and how, through division, it is relatively easy for fear and exploitation to prosper.
September 6, 2021
Today is my stop on the blogtour for 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐍 by Leyla Suzan. Thank you to Poppy at Pushkin for having me along and for sending me a copy of the ebook.
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𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.
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Giften is a dystopian fantasy novel, set sometime in the future, when global warming and adverse weather have ravaged the world, leaving it barren and desolate.
Several small communities are trying to make a life for themselves, growing what they can in the parched ground, and giving regular offerings to their aggressive and violent overseers (the 'MAGs') who reside in the city.
But occasionally, one member of the community with develop a gift (the Giften) which allows them to nurture the soil and plants, and which puts the whole community at risk.
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𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐖𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞.
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The structure of the story is well laid out, with each chapter opening being the captured verbal accounts of survivors from the communities, members of The Syndicate (a group of nomadic giften who have escaped the MAGs), and The Circle (a resistance group dedicated to fighting the overseers who would seek to take food and Giften from the communities).
The main protagonist in the present tense of the story is Ruthie, who develops the gift following a bout of illness as a teenager, and has to navigate this new ability while deciding for herself what actions to take, and where her morality lies.
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.
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Suzan's depiction and descriptions of characters throughout Giften are excellent. Their appearance tells you about their personality, and who they are, rather than just being focussed on physical attributes.
She executes her world-building well, and doesn't overcomplicate it with too many made up words to account for differences from the real world.
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𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐭��𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 ... 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.
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Ruthie makes the difficult decision to leave her community, rather than risk putting them all in danger, and it isn't long before she realises that she will need to fight for what she believes is right.
I'm not going to give any spoilers here, but Suzan does an excellent job of portraying morally grey characters throughout her novel - it's not as simple as things being 'good' or 'evil', but Ruthie must decide what sort of future she wants to live in, and how far she is willing to go to ensure that future.
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𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡 , 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.
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It's important for readers to remember that Giften is aimed at a younger audience, but I think fans of books like The Hunger Games will enjoy this story.
I would definitely consider reading more from Leyla Suzan in the future.
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𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.
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Giften is a dystopian fantasy novel, set sometime in the future, when global warming and adverse weather have ravaged the world, leaving it barren and desolate.
Several small communities are trying to make a life for themselves, growing what they can in the parched ground, and giving regular offerings to their aggressive and violent overseers (the 'MAGs') who reside in the city.
But occasionally, one member of the community with develop a gift (the Giften) which allows them to nurture the soil and plants, and which puts the whole community at risk.
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𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐖𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞.
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The structure of the story is well laid out, with each chapter opening being the captured verbal accounts of survivors from the communities, members of The Syndicate (a group of nomadic giften who have escaped the MAGs), and The Circle (a resistance group dedicated to fighting the overseers who would seek to take food and Giften from the communities).
The main protagonist in the present tense of the story is Ruthie, who develops the gift following a bout of illness as a teenager, and has to navigate this new ability while deciding for herself what actions to take, and where her morality lies.
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.
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Suzan's depiction and descriptions of characters throughout Giften are excellent. Their appearance tells you about their personality, and who they are, rather than just being focussed on physical attributes.
She executes her world-building well, and doesn't overcomplicate it with too many made up words to account for differences from the real world.
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𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐭��𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 ... 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.
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Ruthie makes the difficult decision to leave her community, rather than risk putting them all in danger, and it isn't long before she realises that she will need to fight for what she believes is right.
I'm not going to give any spoilers here, but Suzan does an excellent job of portraying morally grey characters throughout her novel - it's not as simple as things being 'good' or 'evil', but Ruthie must decide what sort of future she wants to live in, and how far she is willing to go to ensure that future.
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𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡 , 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.
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It's important for readers to remember that Giften is aimed at a younger audience, but I think fans of books like The Hunger Games will enjoy this story.
I would definitely consider reading more from Leyla Suzan in the future.
February 5, 2023
Rich world building with strong, character depth on the main character's end make this a tale to sink into and enjoy.
Ruthie lives in a small farming village, which barely survives...like so many other villages. After the Great Burning, the ground is almost worthless, and crops which manage to survive are divided with the government to feed the cities. But nature has given some individuals the gift to make plants thrive with a single touch to the ground. Ruthie's village harbored one of these 'Giften' until the government found out and brutally stole the boy away. As the years pass, the government's search for the Giften grows deadlier, and they will kill anyone who gets in their path. When Ruthie grows sick and ends up a Giften herself, she finds herself with a choice: run for her life or find a way to fight back.
The author does a wonderful job at creating a vivid world with tension, heart, and a desire to survive. While the first chapter sets the tone and makes the dangers of the society and life clear, the tale shifts gears, right away, and lets the reader sink into Ruthie, her life, and the village around her. The first portion of the book, allows the reader time to get to know her, her family situation, daily routines, desires, and fears...and all of this in an interesting way which doesn't bore. Then, just when it does seem to start to drag, things take a sudden turn, and the action begins.
I did enjoy the way this sinks into Ruthie and really lets her personality shine through. Her decisions are understandable, and even mistakes make her that much more 'human'. The other characters, however, didn't carry the same needed depth...because there were too many of them in the given time. This hampered the slight nods at romance or even many of the friendships. Considering these side characters carried obvious, vibrant personalities, it was disappointing to not to have the chance to spend time with them. Three hundred pages just wasn't enough.
This also hurt some of the explanations surrounding the government, the Giften, and the final battles. Plus, the added recorder aspect opened an amazingly clever door, which simply wasn't explored nearly as much as it could/should have been. It was insightful to read the small excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, but Ruthie didn't really have the chance to weave her side of this in.
Still, this was an interesting read. The brutality and conditions played out well as do the moments of heart. Ruthie's own confusion surrounding her feelings and relationships (family, friends, romance) come across very well and natural. The plot twists were well woven and tension is definitely built, especially in the aspect of her father.
I do recommend this one for dystopian fans and enjoyed the read quite a bit...I just wish it would have been built out much more. I would have loved diving into an even more fleshed out tale. And that also shows how much I enjoyed getting to know Ruthie and her group at this smaller level. I received a DRC through Edelweiss and enjoyed the read.
Ruthie lives in a small farming village, which barely survives...like so many other villages. After the Great Burning, the ground is almost worthless, and crops which manage to survive are divided with the government to feed the cities. But nature has given some individuals the gift to make plants thrive with a single touch to the ground. Ruthie's village harbored one of these 'Giften' until the government found out and brutally stole the boy away. As the years pass, the government's search for the Giften grows deadlier, and they will kill anyone who gets in their path. When Ruthie grows sick and ends up a Giften herself, she finds herself with a choice: run for her life or find a way to fight back.
The author does a wonderful job at creating a vivid world with tension, heart, and a desire to survive. While the first chapter sets the tone and makes the dangers of the society and life clear, the tale shifts gears, right away, and lets the reader sink into Ruthie, her life, and the village around her. The first portion of the book, allows the reader time to get to know her, her family situation, daily routines, desires, and fears...and all of this in an interesting way which doesn't bore. Then, just when it does seem to start to drag, things take a sudden turn, and the action begins.
I did enjoy the way this sinks into Ruthie and really lets her personality shine through. Her decisions are understandable, and even mistakes make her that much more 'human'. The other characters, however, didn't carry the same needed depth...because there were too many of them in the given time. This hampered the slight nods at romance or even many of the friendships. Considering these side characters carried obvious, vibrant personalities, it was disappointing to not to have the chance to spend time with them. Three hundred pages just wasn't enough.
This also hurt some of the explanations surrounding the government, the Giften, and the final battles. Plus, the added recorder aspect opened an amazingly clever door, which simply wasn't explored nearly as much as it could/should have been. It was insightful to read the small excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, but Ruthie didn't really have the chance to weave her side of this in.
Still, this was an interesting read. The brutality and conditions played out well as do the moments of heart. Ruthie's own confusion surrounding her feelings and relationships (family, friends, romance) come across very well and natural. The plot twists were well woven and tension is definitely built, especially in the aspect of her father.
I do recommend this one for dystopian fans and enjoyed the read quite a bit...I just wish it would have been built out much more. I would have loved diving into an even more fleshed out tale. And that also shows how much I enjoyed getting to know Ruthie and her group at this smaller level. I received a DRC through Edelweiss and enjoyed the read.
January 24, 2023
Giften takes place in a dystopian future, where small communities work hard to farm the land after climactic catastrophes have decimated the planet. Ruthie and her friends live in The Field, one such community. Unfortunately these communities are forced to hand over large portions of what they grow to the MAGs (men and guns), enforcers from the City who are also always on the lookout for certain individuals who have a special gift (Giften). Giften have the power to grow plants in barren soil, a great help in this ravaged land. Whenever they find one, the MAGs take the Giften back to the City for experimentation. Ruthie is secretly a Giften, and is forced to leave her home when her secret comes out. She begins her journey by traveling with her friends to seek asylum with the Sanctuary, a group of Giften who live separately and fight the MAGs for their freedom. Along the way, they learn about their world, and have to decide if they're willing to fight for their future.
I haven't read a dystopian novel in a while, and this one filled that hole. The idea of the Giften separates this from a lot of other stories; it's an interesting power that really fits well in a story about a planet surviving after near extinction due to climactic events. I got a sense of realism from the characters, with their emotions and relationships. You can feel everyone's motivations, even the villains. This isn't the most action packed novel, but when the action comes up, it is well done. Maybe not the most innovative YA dystopian novel, but interesting to read nonetheless.
I haven't read a dystopian novel in a while, and this one filled that hole. The idea of the Giften separates this from a lot of other stories; it's an interesting power that really fits well in a story about a planet surviving after near extinction due to climactic events. I got a sense of realism from the characters, with their emotions and relationships. You can feel everyone's motivations, even the villains. This isn't the most action packed novel, but when the action comes up, it is well done. Maybe not the most innovative YA dystopian novel, but interesting to read nonetheless.
September 4, 2021
🌿🌾 BOOK TOUR REVIEW 🌾🌿
Giften by @giften_book
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5🌟s
Thanks to @poppyandherbooks at @pushkin_press for sending me a #gifted copy of this fab book in exchange for an honest review!
I LOVE THIS BOOK! I wish I could read it for the first time again!
This is a dystopian book which is so very realistic but with a magical undertone throughout. It gave me “Nora Roberts - Chronicles of The One” vibes and like that series, this book is going on my list of favourite books that I recommend to anyone and everyone. Solicited or not!!
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
I am a huge lover of YA books particularly those that have a magical touch. So this book is the dream for me.
I loved Ruthie and her friends and the people in their community.
I also loved the diary entries at the start of the chapters. When you read the chapter you can then reflect on the diary entry. I think this is the part I love the most.
Whether you are a lover of YA or not, you should give this book a whirl!
#LeylaSuzan #PushkinPress #BookReview #DystopianFiction #Review #AmReading
Giften by @giften_book
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5🌟s
Thanks to @poppyandherbooks at @pushkin_press for sending me a #gifted copy of this fab book in exchange for an honest review!
I LOVE THIS BOOK! I wish I could read it for the first time again!
This is a dystopian book which is so very realistic but with a magical undertone throughout. It gave me “Nora Roberts - Chronicles of The One” vibes and like that series, this book is going on my list of favourite books that I recommend to anyone and everyone. Solicited or not!!
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
I am a huge lover of YA books particularly those that have a magical touch. So this book is the dream for me.
I loved Ruthie and her friends and the people in their community.
I also loved the diary entries at the start of the chapters. When you read the chapter you can then reflect on the diary entry. I think this is the part I love the most.
Whether you are a lover of YA or not, you should give this book a whirl!
#LeylaSuzan #PushkinPress #BookReview #DystopianFiction #Review #AmReading
September 9, 2021
I’ll say from the beginning that I loved this book; it was interesting, addictive and with a human touch that made you feel part of the story from the first page.
Giften is about a dystopian world, where people live in small communities and controlled by some dark men called Mags who dominate them with fear and stealing their food. The story is told by a teenage girl living at the Field, Ruthie, who will see her life changed when one of her friends is kidnapped from the Field because is Giften.
The story will show us a society that needs to survive without food and that is afraid every day that the “men in black” will return to kill them or kidnap their children. Let’s be honest, this is not a way to live and when Ruthie discovers that is a Giften too, she knows that her life and the ones surrounding her is in danger; so she decides to leave the community but not alone, surrounded with people that loves her. This trip will show her that in any fight there’s a good and a bad side, but that nothing is ever totally black or white, we live in a grey world.
I think this is really good adventure book, it will keep any reader, young or adult, invested in the story, also I would love to know more about the characters and how everything will change for them!
Are you ready to discover the “Giften”?
Giften is about a dystopian world, where people live in small communities and controlled by some dark men called Mags who dominate them with fear and stealing their food. The story is told by a teenage girl living at the Field, Ruthie, who will see her life changed when one of her friends is kidnapped from the Field because is Giften.
The story will show us a society that needs to survive without food and that is afraid every day that the “men in black” will return to kill them or kidnap their children. Let’s be honest, this is not a way to live and when Ruthie discovers that is a Giften too, she knows that her life and the ones surrounding her is in danger; so she decides to leave the community but not alone, surrounded with people that loves her. This trip will show her that in any fight there’s a good and a bad side, but that nothing is ever totally black or white, we live in a grey world.
I think this is really good adventure book, it will keep any reader, young or adult, invested in the story, also I would love to know more about the characters and how everything will change for them!
Are you ready to discover the “Giften”?
November 24, 2022
A BLIGHTED LAND
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
A GIFT
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
A SINISTER REGIME
In the City lurks a dark army, intent on hunting Giften to harness their power, destroying all who stand in their way. With the threat growing ever stronger, Ruthie and her friends must leave behind all they have ever known and embark on a quest that will pitch them towards the City, and unknowable danger. One way or another, a battle is coming.
This book had an excellent premise which really drew me in from the start; the fact that the 'Giften' can raise food from dead soil and save their community from starvation. However I feel that so much more could have been made of this instead of which the book turned into what seemed to me to be one long battle. The descriptions and characterisation were very good but I was left with a feeling that something was missing, so much more could have been developed and explored.
My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
Ever since The Darkening, survival has been a struggle. The people of the Field toil on parched earth, trying to forge a life amid dwindling resources.
A GIFT
As one of the Giften, Ruthie is a saviour to her isolated community: her hands hold the rare ability to raise food from dead soil. But she is also its greatest danger.
A SINISTER REGIME
In the City lurks a dark army, intent on hunting Giften to harness their power, destroying all who stand in their way. With the threat growing ever stronger, Ruthie and her friends must leave behind all they have ever known and embark on a quest that will pitch them towards the City, and unknowable danger. One way or another, a battle is coming.
This book had an excellent premise which really drew me in from the start; the fact that the 'Giften' can raise food from dead soil and save their community from starvation. However I feel that so much more could have been made of this instead of which the book turned into what seemed to me to be one long battle. The descriptions and characterisation were very good but I was left with a feeling that something was missing, so much more could have been developed and explored.
My thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
April 15, 2023
Giften is a dystopian YA for suitable for fans Divergent series. This story is about the farming community in the post apocalyptic world. They struggles to grow plant in dry land for feed them self and also sent offering to the capital city. Sometimes one special kid among them will have special ability to raising food from land only with single touch from hands. They are a Giften and MAG army from capital will hunt down and take all this special kid from their communities. We will explore this world and the special power with following a young giften name Ruthie.
This book is brimming with potential. The premise isnt new but it work with previous books with similar theme. But I think this book need additional meat at every aspect. The worldbuilding need alot explanation and depth exploration. The characters loveable but stereotype. I cant feel any connection and they are alot but not flesh out. The plot feel rush for me but still fun to follow with all those survival quest and rebellion plan. The writing is okay and still open to improvement.
The villains still look two dimensional and too black or white.
I personally love the family aspect and inner strength from our MC. I appreciate there no triangle love and romance isnt take big part in the plot. I enjoy Ruthie focus on mission without love angsty. It is predictable but enjoyable read.
Thank you Pushkin Press Children Book and Netgalley for provided me with this copy. My thoughts and opinions always my own
This book is brimming with potential. The premise isnt new but it work with previous books with similar theme. But I think this book need additional meat at every aspect. The worldbuilding need alot explanation and depth exploration. The characters loveable but stereotype. I cant feel any connection and they are alot but not flesh out. The plot feel rush for me but still fun to follow with all those survival quest and rebellion plan. The writing is okay and still open to improvement.
The villains still look two dimensional and too black or white.
I personally love the family aspect and inner strength from our MC. I appreciate there no triangle love and romance isnt take big part in the plot. I enjoy Ruthie focus on mission without love angsty. It is predictable but enjoyable read.
Thank you Pushkin Press Children Book and Netgalley for provided me with this copy. My thoughts and opinions always my own
abandoned
March 30, 2023I came to this in a state of needing something immediate for a bookstore's Children's Choice Book of the Month, and this wouldn't have been it, even if I had come to it within the first two years of publication. There might be some intrigue in the future-set situation, as the main narrator has just discovered she's found some magical talent that will set her apart (and set the baddies on her tail) but the whole book failed to ignite for me. Instead I found a quite clumsy way of just not letting us know exactly who was who and what was what and what it all was in aid of. Also, fanciful names and tributes and tithes and things all being snatched by The City – isn't that just the Hunger Games? Just in case the only thing growing in The Field was my boredom, I gave up – I do perfectly respect you if you persevered, but with my TBR pile as big as it is, I could not.
December 6, 2022
I love dystopian fiction and some YA dystopian novels are among my favorite books. This book had an engaging beginning with characters I was interested in and the promise of adventure and struggle to come. However, the middle left me wanting. I found myself losing interest in the writing and caring less about what happened to the characters. Some elements felt forced or too convenient. I did appreciate that there were no easy answers and what seemed black or white might just be gray. As the end approached I again was immersed in the plot. Overall, this is a decent book that explores a dystopian future in which some are giften, able to create life and a few also able to destroy it. For teens who enjoy this type of book I recommend giving it a try.
April 17, 2023
Giften
YA, Dystopian, Fantasy
Leyla Suzan
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm a bit on the fence with this book. While there were interesting parts, I wasn't blown away.
I did like the world building but I think it would've been better with some more development.
The pacing was ok but it did slow down and drag a bit in the middle which made it harder for me to stay connected to the characters and the plot.
I did like the characters for the most part. They were likeable, although sometimes they were stereotypical.
While this was an ok read, I feel like with a few tweaks here and there, it could be a great read.
*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*
YA, Dystopian, Fantasy
Leyla Suzan
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm a bit on the fence with this book. While there were interesting parts, I wasn't blown away.
I did like the world building but I think it would've been better with some more development.
The pacing was ok but it did slow down and drag a bit in the middle which made it harder for me to stay connected to the characters and the plot.
I did like the characters for the most part. They were likeable, although sometimes they were stereotypical.
While this was an ok read, I feel like with a few tweaks here and there, it could be a great read.
*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*
May 27, 2024
I had to really zoom through this as I’m reading it chapter by chapter with my class of 12-13 year olds and they’ve enjoyed it so much that some of them bought the book and read ahead of me!
The students found it to be a very engaging concept and have had lots of interesting discussions about theme and character. There is some challenging language and challenging topics to address, but has overall been a very accessible text.
I agree with other reviews that say the main conflict in the book comes to an end rather abruptly, and leaves the reader with many questions…maybe there will be a sequel?
The 4 stars are on behalf of my students. The ones who have read ahead are definitely hoping for a second book!
The students found it to be a very engaging concept and have had lots of interesting discussions about theme and character. There is some challenging language and challenging topics to address, but has overall been a very accessible text.
I agree with other reviews that say the main conflict in the book comes to an end rather abruptly, and leaves the reader with many questions…maybe there will be a sequel?
The 4 stars are on behalf of my students. The ones who have read ahead are definitely hoping for a second book!
May 23, 2023
2.5 (rounded down) ⭐️⭐️
Thank you so much to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded so interesting, and I don’t read a whole lot of dystopian books.
Unfortunately, for me, this was very early 00s YA. And not in the forgivable way of actual 00s YA. For me the genre has come so far since then and so this just didn’t cut it for me. For example, a bad kinda love triangle, but like with no stake in it at all a s the characters were so flat, with little to differentiate them from each other.
Not a 1 ⭐️ as the premise is really good, and it had some moments but this was a disappointment for me.
Thank you so much to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded so interesting, and I don’t read a whole lot of dystopian books.
Unfortunately, for me, this was very early 00s YA. And not in the forgivable way of actual 00s YA. For me the genre has come so far since then and so this just didn’t cut it for me. For example, a bad kinda love triangle, but like with no stake in it at all a s the characters were so flat, with little to differentiate them from each other.
Not a 1 ⭐️ as the premise is really good, and it had some moments but this was a disappointment for me.
July 29, 2023
A YA dystopian novel about a future world, set many years after a world war devastated the land. Now there those who are known as "Giften" who have the power to nourish and reestablish the land. However, there is one who wants to harness this power with evil intentions. This book took me a while to get into. It felt like it skipped a lot of the plot. A chapter would end, I would expect it to continue with the storyline, only to find it didn't. Choppy with lots of holes. A bit of an ambiguous ending in regards to some characters fate. If you are a reader who likes dystopian novels with a touch of fantasy, this one is for you.
August 26, 2024
This is definitely a book that any fan of the dystopian YA world that loved The Hunger Games and Divergent. We follow the hard journey of children in this post-apocalyptic world who have special abilities. I really enjoyed the settings that this story took place in and the use of the natural world. I did find that it was a bit slow at many points, but that may just be me. I'm rating it three out of five stars because the book was definitely enjoyable, but it didn't blow me away.
August 12, 2022
Wow. This book is so inspiring and deviously cruel in its own way. The writer makes you feel bad when they kill a villain and sympathetic for the worst people. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone. Bravo!!!!!!
July 7, 2023
3.5 rounded up
If all YAs were like this, I would read them.
If all futuristic dystopian was like this, I would read it.
I loved that I couldn't guess it all straight away and that the tension was kept up. I also liked that it didn't go too hard on the dystopian stuff.
If all YAs were like this, I would read them.
If all futuristic dystopian was like this, I would read it.
I loved that I couldn't guess it all straight away and that the tension was kept up. I also liked that it didn't go too hard on the dystopian stuff.
February 28, 2024
This was one of those stories that it was worth the read but I don't think I would reread it again. It was ok with the story and the pacing and characters. It just wasn't anything over the top OMG I need to tell everyone to read this kind of story.
April 24, 2022
YA title on the SLS Hampshire Book Award shortlist.
May 24, 2023
Was a pretty good book. Nothing bad to say, and nothing exemplary to say
January 6, 2025
Stop trying to make gregious happen, Suzan.
April 23, 2025
Puerile teenage nonsense ! I loved it.
August 28, 2025
great experience
April 28, 2023
I have both a physical and a digital copy of Giften by Leyla Suzan and it was the digital copy that I read on this occasion. I only ever read digital copies of books whilst at work as I am definitely team physical copy, however I have found that my books get battered from being taken back and forth to work, so just reading digital copies on my phone saves them from any damage!
Giften is another quite short read, sub 300 pages again and a similar length to Godkiller, however in this case I do feel like it suffers more from this condensed size. The general concept is great, so basic but so good. It is a dystopian Earth where natural disasters of some kind have ruined the infrastructure and left the world as a parched and desolate wasteland. Communities are isolated and toil within themselves to provide enough food to both feed themselves and to provide the “offerings” demanded of them by the dark and mysterious City. MAGs arrive regularly, decked out in black and armed, and take away large portions of what food the communities are able to produce, as well as occasionally taking away people too.
Some people in the universe find themselves blessed (or cursed) with the ability to raise food from the dead soil just by touch, however the City hunts these “Giften” and takes them away by force for reasons unknown to the communities. Ruthie is Giften and with her gift comes danger, danger that leads her outside the confines of the Field that she has lived her whole life in.
I think the concept and the world is phenomenal, however I really do feel it needed to be fleshed out more, the final third in particular feels very rushed and would benefit so much from an extra 100 pages or so!
Giften is another quite short read, sub 300 pages again and a similar length to Godkiller, however in this case I do feel like it suffers more from this condensed size. The general concept is great, so basic but so good. It is a dystopian Earth where natural disasters of some kind have ruined the infrastructure and left the world as a parched and desolate wasteland. Communities are isolated and toil within themselves to provide enough food to both feed themselves and to provide the “offerings” demanded of them by the dark and mysterious City. MAGs arrive regularly, decked out in black and armed, and take away large portions of what food the communities are able to produce, as well as occasionally taking away people too.
Some people in the universe find themselves blessed (or cursed) with the ability to raise food from the dead soil just by touch, however the City hunts these “Giften” and takes them away by force for reasons unknown to the communities. Ruthie is Giften and with her gift comes danger, danger that leads her outside the confines of the Field that she has lived her whole life in.
I think the concept and the world is phenomenal, however I really do feel it needed to be fleshed out more, the final third in particular feels very rushed and would benefit so much from an extra 100 pages or so!
March 24, 2023
3.25
What an interesting read! This felt very Hunger Gamesy at the beginning, and I was really drawn in, but the middle got really repetitive and cliched. By the end I was forcing myself to be intrigued.
I would definitely read more books from Leyla Suzan, but this wasn't quite it.
What an interesting read! This felt very Hunger Gamesy at the beginning, and I was really drawn in, but the middle got really repetitive and cliched. By the end I was forcing myself to be intrigued.
I would definitely read more books from Leyla Suzan, but this wasn't quite it.
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