Looking Like a Local

General Winton’s Daughter by Sharon Shinn

I should really be finishing an American Lit paper that is due this week for finals, yet I am here on LDIW writing about another good YA read. It has been a meager season for reading due to the heavy work load involved with earning a teaching degree. I managed to squeak only a few reads (at least novels I wanted to read) in over the last four months.

Thanksgiving was cold so I could not think of anything better to do than to plant myself in my reading chair with a chai tea and a good book, General Winston’s Daughter. Can I just say how much of a treat the personality is of the novel's protagonist, Averie Winston? She is spunky, opinionated, feisty, and compassionate. This novel has the feel of an historical fiction book, but the countries and port-of-calls are fictious. This book is a mix of exotic locales, military talk, and cultural diversity. Think British imperialism meets Pirates of the Caribbean (well…close enough). By the end of the book, you will be rooting for both sides too!

Three Things to Love in this book…

1. The Chiarrin culture—their dress, their customs, their engineering ingenuity, their perseverance.

2. Lieutenant Ket Du’kai—he is the kind of guy you want to know more about. He is a Xantish foreigner serving in an oppressive Aebrian army occupying a subordinate country, Chiarrin.

3. Jalessa, Chiarrin native—she will surprise you at every turn and you can’t help but want to be on her side.

Noteworthy writing in GWD: “And if that meant that a thousand independent ship captains lost their trade, and the shopkeepers who rely on their merchandise had nothing to sell, and the shop owners’ sons and daughters starved to death, and the mills in northern Aeberelle went silent, and all of the mill workers and their families went hungry because they had no jobs? You would condemn all of them to privation because of your soft heart?” (Morgan and Averie difference of opinion about imperialism)

Let’s Rate It

The Cover: A shimmering mirage in the Sahara of books. The image of the girl on the cover reflects the description given of Chiarrin dress.

Page Turner Worthiness Factor: Oh no, it’s the last page! A satisfying ending.

Coming to a Theatre Near You: Worth the price of three gallons of gas.

Better than a bowl of ice cream: Chocolate with sprinkles.