Winter of Fire

Read this when I was in 7th grade. The only book I have read multiple times. When my house burned down three years later, and I lost the only copy I had ever been able to find I was very upset. In an effort to find a copy I wrote the author, Sherryl Jordan, asking if she knew where I could find one. Two months later I recieved a package from New Zealand with an autographed copy from her library and a signed drawing she had done of the characters in the book. I still converse with her to this day. <br /><br />

Few YA novels are are well-written enough to be just as compelling when read as an adult - much less read as an adult for the first time, and not just revisiting a loved story from one's youth, with all the fond memories and nostalgia we bring to a re-read. But that is how I've just read this book, and I was extremely impressed.<br /><br />The parable of slavery and repression is a familiar one; whether we consider the idea of women being subservient to men, or one people enslaving another - both of which are present in the novel - the struggle for freedom and equality rings just as true. The world as described by the author isn't burdened with complex illustration, which might have been a detraction under a lesser-skilled pen. Here, though, the simple facts of Elsha's world are strongly felt without the need for complicated geography, history, or socioeconomic structures (as is often the case in novels even like this one, where the element of fantasy is very slight). We see the harsh inequalities in the world as presented, and feel vividly the fire in Elsha's heart to remake that world and lead her people to a better place. And yet the richness of character and the importance of the relationships she forms in the course of her journey is never neglected, and often does more to compel us to her story than the forces and long-standing beliefs arrayed against her.<br /><br />That this YA novel is out of print is a damn shame, as this story really deserves to be known more than simply via those who loan out their cherished, hard-to-find and hard-to-replace copies.

Not really a fan of this one. Great ideas but world building fell kind of flat for me.<br /><br />GR review to come or read it early <a href="https://readasaurus.blogspot.com/2023/06/winter-of-fire-by-sherryl-jordan.html" rel="nofollow noopener">HERE</a>.

dystopia/post-apocalyptic fantasy (less fantasy, reads more like an alternate world)<br /><br />This book was so good I am finding it hard to talk about it.<br /><br />To say I loved it is an understatement. I felt incredibly moved right from the beginning. And by the end I felt like I had emerged from reading the book somehow changed. <br /><br />*wipes tear away* That's all I have for this review for now.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

One of the signs of a good book is its ability to grow with the reader. I read this book a long time ago and was caught up in the characters, emotion and the energy of the story, but it has been one of the few novels that has moved with me as I have changed. It couples simple entertainment with thought provoking themes seamlessly. There is something in the soul of this book that resonates with who I am.

Boy cockatiels will freeze out a girl cockatiel if she sings. I find that to be the most depressing thing ever (I'm shooting dirty looks at my cocky buddies Lester the Molestor and Hey Jude as I type this. They never even attempted to do a Lauren Bacall whistling lesson for me!). There's a scene in the film Clueless when Breckin Meyer (can't believe I just mentioned THAT name) tells Brittany Murphy (or that one) that boys do those dangerous stunts and girls don't so they'll have something to impress them with. That's bullshit. They can fan out peacock feathers, if need be. Singing is for the birds.<br />The society in Sheryll Jordan's Winter of Fire is the dystopian society for women. They are at the bottom of the rock pile. Ever play "When and where?" I always have to ask "Do I have to be a woman?" (And it gets tougher from there.) The quelled have to mine in caves for fire rocks to keep the special people warm. It's a world that Kevin Costner never dreamed of. Jordan's world is as good as any seen in Suzanne Collins' wildly popular The Hunger Games series. The society rules are believable enough to give pause in a world where natural resources are increasingly running out (neighboring states hate Florida over water, while our officials screwed us over, etc. It's all over). I wouldn't be surprised either if Sharon Shinn had read this book. I was strongly reminded of her Archangel book, in particular (great book). The later books are better because it isn't all about the men. Archangel is one of my favorite love stories ever because it's about freedom. They are enslaved in Winter of Fire. It pretty much sucks hard (as a rock! Flint, Michigan never had it so bad).<br />I wish that the relationships with the many different men didn't go on and on. This could have been an even better book. Let the girls sing.<br /> I loved the underlying desperation to live a good life offset by the need for something more personal. It is a shame that this is out of print. Jordan's The Raging Quiet is still my favorite of hers, though.

I re-read this book to fulfill the "book from your childhood" category of the 2015 Reading Challenge as it was my favorite book for many years as I was growing up. I have a very clear memory of finishing it when I was a kid and then flipping back to the beginning to start it again right away. I was nervous to read it as an adult as I was afraid it wouldn't stand the test of time. While it wasn't good enough to flip back to page one and read again when I finished it, I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. This book tells the story of a dystopian society in which the which the world has become cold and in order to have enough firestones for humanity to survive, there is an enslaved class, the Quelled who mines for the firestones and a master class, the Chosen, who benefit from the enslavement of the Quelled. Throw in some myths and legends and a Firelord with the ability to divine for the firestones and you've got a pretty well developed dystopian society. And then there is Elsha, a young Quelled woman who is the heroine of the story. With the bigger themes of social justice, equality, gender dynamics, theology, and a strong female lead, I'm pretty proud of my young self for loving such a book. <br /><br />I gave this book 5 stars when I originally entered it into goodreads, based only on my memory of it. If I read it now for the first time, it might not be a 5 star book, but I'm sticking with that rating because I loved it so much as a kid and liked it a lot as an adult. And there was one line that I remembered almost word for word that I think made me cheer when I was a kid and brought a tear to my eye as an adult. If that doesn't deserve 5 stars, I don't know what does.

Hands down one of my favourites of all time. OF ALL TIME.<br />Everyone needs to read this book forever.

RTC

I remember reading this in high school (on my own, not for class) it was a book I had accidentally stumbled across in the library while I was browsing for something to read. i was so moved that a few years later, I read it again and found myself no less moved.<br /><br />Part of me craves a sequel to this fantastic book (or a prequel) and part of me is happy the book was left the way it is. It's even more fascinating when you realize that the author implies that this dark world is what ours is in the future, so even though this book seems to be medieval with a bit of fantasy, it's really a clever piece of sci-fi. Simply one of the best books I have ever read.