Monday 4 June 2018

Walk on Earth a Stranger - Book Review


Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1)
by Rae Carson


What is it about:
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.


What did I think of it:
This is a really cool read.

The magical element - Lee being able to sense gold - is very small and understated in this book. I expect it to become a bigger part of the story in the next book, but to be honest I didn't mind that it was hardly present in this book at all.

Lee loses everything in just a few days and decides to go after her Best friend Jefferson who left for California. This book is all about the grueling journey across America to the goldfields in California. The first part is about Lee trying to catch up with Jefferson, and once she does the second part is about the hard and difficult journey to California.

I loved reading about this journey and the hardships Lee's party encounters. Carson sure did her research and manages to show the challenges people faced on the long journey across America. The people Lee travels with are divers and this adds even more tension to an already brutal trip. I had my favorites among the characters, but knew that not everyone might make it to California, so I rooted for them and hoped they'd make it.

The only thing that annoyed me in this book is how the romance storyline was handled. The feelings Lee and Jefferson have for each other are clear for me as reader, but the two keep dancing around each other, neither willing to speak up. Add another girl to to the mix who has feelings for Jefferson and vice versa and I was softly grumbling I can tell you. How this situation is finally resolved felt like a cop out to me I will confess.

That aside this is a beautiful read, and I'll definitely pick up the next book to see what's next for Lee.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful Historical YA read


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