Review - For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date:June 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0062006141
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in For Darkness Shows the Stars series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars

I read Peterfreund’s Rampant previously and enjoyed that book. I was interested to see what she would write in a sci-fi setting. Unfortunately while this book is beautifully written, it is incredibly slow and not much happens throughout the book. This is supposed to be a sort of sci-fi telling of Persuasion.

This story is about an eighteen year old girl named Elliot who is struggling to run her father’s farm. She is part of a society of people called Luddites who are against technology. When a tech-based apocalyptic event happens they end up surviving a catastrophe and becoming the wealthy part of society. When younger she was friends with a Post named Kai, who left to find his fortune elsewhere.

One part of this book I really did enjoy was the chapters that consisted of letters Elliot and Kai had written to each other when they were younger. About every third or fourth chapter consisted of these letters. They were entertaining to read and gave an excellent glimpse into this society.

The world building in this book is excellent. You have whole society based on the fact that because of technological tampering part of the world was Reduced, or basically unable to function as normal human beings. Then there are the Posts, these are people born to Reduced parents who are able to function as normal humans. Lastly there are the Luddites, who have basically ruled society since the Reduction. It’s a very interesting world and discusses both the positives and negatives of genetic enhancement.

Elliot is a hard character to love. She’s run a tough road even with her high social status. Throughout the book her viewpoint sounds more like that of a worn out forty year old than that of an eighteen year. To be honest reading about her made me feel tired and sad. She has taken on so much responsibility, suffers so much, and is constantly abused for it. She is tired, she is hopeless, and she is struggling to help the Posts on her farm survive.

Kai is also a hard character to love. He took off and left Elliot behind to find a fortune of his own. He blames her for staying on the farm even knowing that many Posts would suffer if she were to leave her responsibilities behind. He is mean, disrespectful, and spiteful to Elliot throughout most of the book. It is only through their letters to each other that you get a glimpse into the friendship Kai and Elliot once had.

This book reads more like a Southern Plantation romance than a sci-fi novel. The majority of the book is about Elliot’s struggles to run the North farm in light of her father’s abuse and horrible decision making. It is also about Elliot and Kai trying to come to peace with what they have become over their time apart. Additionally it is also about the Posts on the farm and the lives they are trying to have while working in almost slave-like conditions.

Very little actually happens in this book. Elliot whines about her responsibilities and moons over Kai. Kai avoids and insults Elliot. As a reader we read mostly about day to day how the North farm is run and the problems they encounter. It is beautifully written, but the pace is incredibly slow.

I did enjoy the tidbits we are feed about the history of this world and about the genetic modifications that are starting to happen again. Peterfreund doesn’t go into great detail on these topics but they are there and add some interest to the book. I did really enjoy the last couple chapters of the book, things pick up the pace and are much more intriguing.

Overall an okay read. There are a lot of interesting ideas presented in this novels that I liked. Unfortunately I had trouble engaging with the characters, and found our heroine Elliot to be so downtrodden that she was incredibly depressing to read about. While the book has an interesting premise, not much happens. Things move very slowly and in the end it reads more like a book about Southern Plantations and slavery than a sci-fi novel. At this point I am unsure whether or not I will read the next book in this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund (4/5 stars)

I was excited to read this book by Peterfreund. I mean it's about evil, carnivorous unicorns, how can you not be excited? It was a very creative book and pretty engaging.

Astrid is your typical teenage girl, except she has a mother than has raised her on stories about evil, man-eating unicorns. Things are going pretty good for Astrid, that is until her boyfriend gets gored by an evil unicorn while they are out in the woods making out. From there things get kind of weird. Astrid is shipped off to a convent in Rome by her overzealous mother, where supposedly, she is going to learn how to become a unicorn hunter. Apparently Astrid comes from a long line of female unicorn hunters.

The best thing about this book was the creativity. The whole idea of evil rampaging unicorns is a lot of fun and Peterfreund does an excellent job of integrating the existence of unicorns into current history and society. Astrid is a great character that has a dry sense of humor and a pretty good sense of self. The book itself clips along at a good pace and is engaging. At the end of the book you want to find out more about these huntresses.

There was a part mid-way through the book after their trainer left that things slowed down a bit too much. It never got boring, but it didn't match the rest of the pace of the book. Also this book takes place in modern time, which for some reason I was expecting more of a fantasy. It is more of a paranormal or maybe urban fantasy type of book. While Astrid and her cousin were both engaging characters, I didn't find the side characters as engaging as I would have liked. Maybe there were just too many side characters or maybe enough background wasn't provided. Lastly there wasn't as much hunting and fighting as I expected; there was a lot of time spent on the social aspects of being a huntress...mainly keeping your virginity.

This was a good read. It will appeal mostly to a young female audience; but fans of unicorns and huntresses may also find it appealing. The main strength of the story is the creativeness of it and the ease with which the unicorns are brought into the modern day world. The characterization of the side characters could have been more well done and the action scenes more plentiful and better detailed; but all in all it is a decent story. I will be keeping an eye out to see what other books along the fantasy vein Peterfreund comes up with.