Hey all, just wanted to start with a big WHAT IS GOING ON IM SO ANGRY to begin this little review of this book. I've only gotten to chapter 5 and I'm furious :). I expected more from the book than this. The hollish have officially lost my respect. The worst part? The rest of Janners family have also lost my respect. Why? Because of the contents of chapter 4 are unacceptable. I don't know how I'll even finish the book after reading this chapter. What Janner's family did after all he's been through was not okay.
First of all, who makes a kid eat as much as they made Janner? Also, why is it okay that they literally laced the last muffin? Seriously, what on earth. They didn't even tell him this would happen. Second of all, they dumped him in the wilderness IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. You may argue "it's just the ritual of becoming a man. They gave him supplies"
Read my lips. That wasn't okay. No spin you put on it made their actions okay.
"But, Janna, it's just what they do to every durgan gui-"
Don't start. I don't care. There's nothing you can say that will make me okay with this chapter. The fact Janner is only "slightly annoyed" also infuriates me.
"Hey, let's take Janner, a child that has seen the depths of Hades and experienced what no child should, and shatter whatever trust he has left for others! He's already proven himself but since he's used to being traumatized, let's add to it to prove he belongs in the Guild on the edge of war."
And Nia replied, "Wow, what a great idea. Let's keep the horrible tradition passed down in my family :)"
How out of character.
This better be a dream or something because I don't see how I can finish the book after this and I only just started it.
Just to clarify, the ritual itself of survival was not what bothered me. It was the lack of informing Janner and giving him something that would knock him unconscious. I would hope nothing like that would become of me by my own family. I'd never trust them again after that. You think it would be comforting to eat muffins made by your own mother but to worry if she put something in them every time after this would not be worth the training this event would offer me. Janner could definitely handle this. I just hate how it started and how it was glorified in a book by a Christian author