Reminiscent of Gathering Blue and The People of Sparks, both dystopian books in their own respective series, Giften is set in what I interpreted to be the looming future. With hints at the destruction of life as we know it (referred to as the Darkening), those who survived have formed a community to adapt and develop a new way of life that is free of technology and other modern conveniences I personally can’t imagine living without.
Ruthie has been revealed to be Giften, which is hinted at as a kind of magical ability with dirt and plants and growing things, but not a lot of detail is given on how this works. Throughout the story I got the distinct impression that Ruthie did not know the extent of these abilities, which isn’t surprising since Giften are kept secret and generally not spoken of.
It isn’t until more than halfway through the book that more is revealed about what has happened since the Darkening and the things Ruthie and other Giften are capable of. Communities seem to be very secluded and cut off from each other and though they have solar vehicles and some modern weapons, everything else seems very basic and people are used to living off the land. Which is why Ruthie is so precious, because Giften have the ability to help make plants grow.
This isn’t a sci-fi story, but it is somewhat of an imagining of what the future could possibly look like. So, if you’re looking for a good dystopian story with a female lead, give Giften a try!
Review of a Digital Advance Reader’s Copy from Pushkin Children’s Books
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 4 mild obscenities; 3 scatological words.
Violence/Gore: A brief scene occurs where a minor watches as her friend is taken away by men with guns, his neighbors and friends watch him being taken away and the boy puts up a fight; a woman tries to stop the boy being taken and is cracked over the head with the butt of a gun; a minor is reported to be very ill; a girl imagines what her friend that was taken away is experiencing and what injuries he may have sustained, thinking about bruises and blood; a group of minors comes across a village that was attacked, a brief description is made of blood and gore and people being seen dead and with heads that look like they had exploded, even the chickens were killed; several attacks are mentioned to occur, blood is mentioned as well as physical altercations and weapons used; a minor is mentioned to have long scratches on his body; guns are mentioned to be fired, knives used in self-defense against enemy attack, bodies are mentioned to be blood drenched; a woman who has special abilities recalls how she was being choked by a man and she burned him and then used a bow and arrow to kill him; a bloody nose is briefly described; enemies are mentioned to be thrown over the side of a bridge to their death; a man is mentioned to never draw another breath; a man falls out of a window and is described to land hard in a splash of red; steel pipes are mentioned to be used as weapons to bash people; a man is mentioned to be stabbed in the neck with a knife and blood is described to spurt from him; a bottle is used as a weapon and smashed against a character’s head, they collapse; gun use is mentioned.
Sex/Nudity: Adults are seen embracing and kissing; minors kiss in a brief scene; a mention is made of a nude girl seen floating in water in a clinical/non-sexual setting.
Mature Subject Matter:
Death; loss of a loved one.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
None
