Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Kirkus Starred Review for Vessel!

Super excited to report that Vessel received its first trade review, and it's a starred review from Kirkus!!!

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Without further ado (though you should know that I am completely doing the Snoopy Dance of Joy as I type this), here's the review:

Vessel
By Sarah Beth Durst
(McElderry; ISBN: 9781442423763; September 2012; Fall catalog)

STARRED REVIEW.  When a summoning goes awry, Liyana must try to save her people and learn how to live for herself, in this sweeping adventure. Chosen as a "vessel" to host the Goat Clan’s goddess, Bayla, and abandoned when Bayla doesn’t come, Liyana finds herself alone in the desert. Korbyn, god of the Raven Clan, rescues Liyana and provides her with a purpose: find the four other vessels who are also missing deities. Soon, Liyana and Korbyn pick up stalwart Fennik (horse god Sendar), princess-y Pia (silk goddess Oyri) and angry Raan (scorpion goddess Maara). Besides the desert’s many dangers, the ragtag group faces the massed army of the Crescent Empire, led by a young Emperor and his malicious magician, Mulaf. The tribes need their gods to save them from illness, starvation and drought, but the gods need to possess vessels to work magic—an arrangement whose logic several characters begin to question. Liyana is self-sacrificing but not a saint; stubborn, loyal, and curious, she finds new reasons to live even as she faces death. Durst offers a meditation on leadership and power and a vivid story set outside the typical Western European fantasy milieu. From the gripping first line, a fast-paced, thought-provoking and stirring story of sacrifice.


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6 Comments:

At 12:44 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Squee! I'm so happy that Kirkus gave you a starred review! Anticipation . . .

 
At 12:30 AM, Blogger Sarah Beth Durst said...

Priya: Thanks so much! And "squee" was pretty much exactly what I said. :)

 
At 9:48 AM, Blogger Susan said...

So excited for you, Sarah!! Congratulations!

 
At 9:59 AM, Blogger Sarah Beth Durst said...

Susan: Thank you so much!!

 
At 11:18 AM, Blogger E.C. Myers said...

Congratulations! I skimmed until I got to the glowing part, because Kirkus has a way of spoiling plots, but yay! I am so looking forward to reading this.

 
At 11:51 PM, Blogger Sarah Beth Durst said...

Eugene: Great to hear! Thanks so much!

 

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