Name: Vivatera
Author: Candace Thomas
Pages: 356
Release Date: February 22, 2019
Genre: YA Fantasy/Fantasy
LGBTQ: None
People of Color: People with non-white skin are included, but many of these are humanoid people with deep ties to the earth or magic
Bechdel Test: A hesitant pass. There are women who do things other than support men but love interests reign supreme. The dominant female character trope is "damsel in distress."
Trigger Warning: Naomi does have a stalker for part of the book.
I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The reader follows a number of young characters, but the dominant characters are Naomi, Zander, and Reynolds. Naomi is an orphan who has more than the average charm. Zander is Naomi's friend who suffers dearly when the king's men fail to capture Naomi. He ends up as an attendant to the prince. Naomi has a hidden protector, a rogue magic-wielder named Reynolds, who steps out of the shadows when the king's men realize she may have magic. Naomi and Reynolds have an instant connection and Reynolds decides he must leave Naomi before her charm overcomes his iron will. She is left at a magic encampment to learn about her gifts and to meet other wielders. Magic is not born in a person but usually is the result of an accident where natural elemental magic is involved. Naomi decides she must go in search of Reynolds after she has a distressing vision about him, Several other campers decide to accompany her. The book records her, Reynolds, and Zander's adventures (with other minor characters stepping in with their point of view from time to time). They meet interesting people, we learn more about the magic system and how it is threatened, and we meet the king who has been driven mad by the desire for magic.
The basic premise was interesting and I think there is a lot of potential for the series. I particularly liked Zander as well as Ferra and her spunky attitude.
I did not feel much of a connection with either Reynolds or Naomi. I also was not invested in their love story. The reasons why certain characters do things (especially Naomi) was very flimsy. Zander, the sisters, etc. felt like they had much more compelling reasons to move their stories as well as the narrative itself along. I think if the book had one more good edit, it would be in great shape.
The violence was not overly gruesome, there is some bad language but not much, and there are no sexual episodes. For these reasons, I would recommend it as suitable for middle school and up.
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