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Given to the Sea

  • Writer: Michelle Starcher
    Michelle Starcher
  • Apr 28, 2017
  • 3 min read

Image Retrieved from Amazon.

McGinnis, Mindy. Given to the Sea. New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2017.

ISBN: 9780399544613

Description:

Khosa is The Given, a girl born to be fed to the water, in order to prevent the kind of wave that once destroyed the Kingdom of Stille. Although her body longs to dance into the sea, she must produce an heir to take her place and protect future generation

s of Stille. Human touch repulses Khosa and prevents her from fulfilling her destiny. However, the tides are rising, and the Kingdom of Stille is running out of patience.

Vincent is third in line to inherit the throne of Stille. When Khosa arrives without an heir, Vincent knows his ruthless father will make she fulfills her duty, regardless of the cost. Vincent's heart and his loyalties are at odds between his duty to protect Stille and his desire to protect the girl whose fate is directly tied to its survival.

Dara and Donil are the last of the Indiri, a native race with the magic tied to nature itself.

The Pietra slaughtered the Indiri a generation before, and now Witt leads the Pietra as they march on Stille, determined to destroy whatever stands in the way of the survival of his people.

The tides are turning in Stille, where royals scheme, Pietrans march, and the rising sea calls for its Given.

My Thoughts:

McGinnis creates a dark troubled fantasy world in Given to the Sea. Although the book is classified as YA, it deals with a lot of adult issues and themes. Many of the problems that the characters face aren't typical for today's teens, and the solutions may appear cruel or harsh. For instance, in the Kingdom of Stille, a young woman is sacrificed in each generation to keep the raging sea from destroying the land, while the Pietrans feed the sea their old and weak to try to prevent their own destruction. Both groups believe in the lore of their ancestors and fail to seek an alternative to protect their people who doesn't require the sacrifice of innocents. The novel is littered with violence, including war and attempted rape, but I think McGinnis uses the destruction to help us understand the darkness that surrounds the characters. With the exception of Vincent, each of the main characters have suffered and struggle to find peace with their own existence.

I don't think any of us could understand the void Khosa lives with knowing that she would never have a future. Although she isn't your typical heroine, I found a quiet strength in her character that impressed me. The Indiri twins, Dara and Donil, remember everything about the destruction of their race and the death of their mother. Both look for a way to preserve their way of life, even though it appears they are the last of their kind. Witt has sacrificed everyone and everything, including himself, to become the Lithos and protect the Pietrans, and although it took a while to see his story develop, I am looking forward to reading more about him in next book. Vincent is the most realistic character, and I easily identified with his internal struggle concerning the safety of his kingdom and his growing feelings for Khosa. He seems to be the only person who really thinks of her as anything more than "The Given". Vincent is the lone beacon of light in a world where death and sacrifice are required for survival.

Given to the Sea is written in multiple perspectives: Khosa, Vincent, Dara, and Witt. I am not a big fan of books written in multiple perspectives because I don't usually find all of the characters compelling. I usually lose interest in at least a portion of the story because I just don't really like the character. Unfortunately, this was the case in Given to the Sea, although McGinnis does a descent job of keeping each character's perspective tied to the overall storyline. I found Vincent and Khosa's perspectives to the most intriguing, while Witt's perspective had very little impact on the overall story line until the very end. Although Dara's perspective offered insight into the developing story, there was something about her character that didn't appeal to me. While all the other characters seemed to be about the greater good, Dara demonstrated a selfishness that made me wonder about her true intentions.

Overall:

I enjoyed Given to the Sea, and I am excited about the next book in the duet. The ending left me intrigued with questions about what happens in the next installment.

 
 
 

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