Fantasy can be such a wonderful genre, full of creativity and opportunities that reality cannot have. It's also a good way for people to tell deep stories about real issues but in a new and unique way....given that it's well written. Is this one such fantasy? Well, let's just take a look.
Elloren Gardner is of the revered Gardnarian race, but a powerless one raised in a small village by her uncle and kept apart from those who would judge her for her legacy. Elloren is the granddaughter of the Black Witch, the Gardnarian mage who liberated her people and made them the power in the land. But Elloren just wants a simple life, where she attends Verpax University and becomes an apothecary. But as she finally joins the University, she learns a great deal about the other races of creatures that share her world, and learns that being the granddaughter of the Black Witch is no gift, and Elloren must decide how she is to live her own life, even if it means turning her back on all she believes.
I kind of need to be careful with this one. Books about overcoming prejudice can spark some really hot conversations that I really don't want to get into and have no plan on getting into. So, for this purpose, I'm just going to stick to the experience I had while reading it. I'm going to talk about characters, plot, the writing and how I felt for most of the story. For my two cents on this book's approach to addressing prejudice and discrimination...I've read better. Let's leave it at that, shall we?
Now, the point this book wants to get across is that discrimination is bad, prejudice is bad, and Elloren's journey to overcome these things and become a better person. The thing is...she was already a pretty good person to begin with. She didn't have to learn anything because, since she had a sheltered upbringing, she had only her personal opinions to go off of. She's a bit naive, yes, and has been exposed so some of the prejudice but when she arrives in the city and sees the extent of her people's racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and all the rest, she's put off by it. She doesn't like how others are being treated so there's no point in her reinventing herself. All she needs to do is learn and make some opinions of her own.
What I find a bit harder to swallow is that these people of these other races, and some from her own race, see her as this woman who could one day redefine the world and reshape it to how she sees fit...and decide the best thing to do is physically abuse her, destroy her property, humiliate her, and constantly threaten her with death and great bodily injury. Um...okay, guys. You all think she's going to be some wonderful power in this world who could either liberate or destroy you...and your big idea is to treat her like crap? Did none of you think that you should...oh, I don't know...BE NICE TO HER!? That having her on your side would be a GOOD THING? No? Just me? Okay, then, why are you all so surprised when she goes to the people willing to help her (that are so obviously evil they might as well be sitting in revolving chairs and stroking cats every time we see them) and those people then threaten your lives and families? WHAT DID YOU THINK SHE WAS GOING TO DO!? I'm sorry, but there was just a lot of stupidity going on with the way people think in this book. All it would take was one or two smart people and this whole thing would have been much shorter and more to the point instead of Elloren going through tons of pointless abuse so we can feel sorry for her. Oh, and the reason that everybody treats her like crap...she "looks like her grandmother". I'll come back to this.
While the subject matter being written about and the intelligence of the characters were not to my liking, I am willing to say the "voice" of the book was pretty good. I use of language was good as well as descriptions were well-thought out and brought some impressive imagery. However, it can't save everything. That "look just like your grandmother" thing I mentioned? Yeah, if you were to turn how many times someone says Elloren "looks like her grandmother" or any variation of the phrase into a drinking game...you'd die from alcohol poisoning. They say it so dang often! I got real sick of it real fast. It's also just kind of a pet peeve of mine where I can't stand when people are judged or abused because "you look just like" somebody else. Oh, yes, how dare I have the gall to resemble someone I am related to! Shame on me for an aspect of my person that I have absolutely no control over! Seriously, people, get over it!
Final Verdict
I definitely felt strongly about this book...just not in a good way. The characters all had victim complexes, the villains were unbearably obvious, and pretty imagery and some imagination regarding the races wasn't really enough to make up for it. If you want to read for yourself how this book goes, go right ahead...but save your cash and check it out at your local library.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller
Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242
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