Fantasy review: An Ember in the Ashes

Since I moved to Chicago 5 years ago, I haven't really gone to the library. At first it was because the closest library branch's hours didn't line up with my work schedule, then it was because I realized the local branch is a children's library. Although I was able to get my library card there, being able to choose any book on the internet just isn't the same as browsing the shelves.  

Last summer, another branch was built about a mile away. It's a ten minute bus ride, and it's beautiful. A couple weeks ago I spent half a day there, writing at a long wooden table and staring out the giant glass windows at passing traffic. 

Before I left, I wandered the shelves. 

I walked out with three beautiful, physical library books. I forgot how much I missed the perusal. Pulling books at random, being surprised. Finding books I've never heard of alongside those I've always meant to read but haven't gotten around to yet. 

One of the books I pulled was An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I've heard a lot about this series over the last few years. When it came out I was just beginning grad school, and living next door to a used book store. Most of my reading at that point was older books found at the book store. 

There's something about settling down in an armchair with a heavy fantasy novel on a Sunday afternoon that's unlike any other feeling. When I got up to make dinner, that first night home from the library, I was about a quarter of the way in to the novel. It's fast-paced, the characters are compelling, and the world-building is interesting. 

But I didn't pick the book up for another week.

Something I've noticed about YA fantasy that's come out over the last few years is that the tension is strung so tightly it sometimes hurts to read.  It's hard to be so worried about characters that I just met, especially when the real world is full of its own worries. I just couldn't read this on a week day. 

Is it just me? Is this a sign that I'm too old for YA? Maybe YA is written this way to hold young people's attention, or to stand out against all the different ways they could be spending their time. 

The following weekend I picked it back up again, and devoured the rest of the book over two nights.  It took me until the second one to really commit to caring about the characters, but now that I reached the end I can't wait to return to the library for the rest of the series. I am worried because Sabaa Tahir tweets a lot about killing her characters, but I want to know what happens. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book and found it very well written. The narrative arc was really well paced (once I got over my own fears), and this was an excellent demonstration of voice when I needed to see it. I've gotten feedback recently that I need to improve my voice in my own narrative, and this was a perfect example to read of what my own work is lacking. It's not enough to show how the world looks and what the characters are doing, slowly opening up their motivations. Sabaa Tahir's book had a point of view. We read through the eyes of each of her character's desires. That's a lesson that I hope to carry in to my writing this week.