The Green Ember by S.D. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Blurb: Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.
Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.
Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?
My Review: I chose this book to read for a couple of reasons:
- the book cover is great, and
- the rabbits on the cover made me think of Watership Down (which I loved).
Yes, there are rabbits in Watership Down and there are rabbits in The Green Ember, but I wouldn’t say the books are similar apart from that. The rabbits in The Green Ember wear cloths, build ships, make furniture and live life like a human.
That’s not a bad thing. The Green Ember is not Watership Down. Just like Watership Down is not The Green Ember. They are both stories involving rabbits. They are both different from my normal read in some way. I enjoyed them both, for different reasons.
The Green Ember started with a kite game. It didn’t last long, but it did take a little while for the action to start. However, once the story really begins, it was interesting. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I believe in going with the flow and being accepting. Why shouldn’t a rabbit carry a sword? In their world, they can and they do.
Heather and Pickett are adorable. They display manners and loyalty, and portray a family unit that protects and care for each other. I like that because I think many books for younger readers sometimes step away from these things. And I believe young readers need to be reading exciting adventures, along with good morals.
As is often the case with a first book in a series, there is a lot of set up happening, which can slow an adventure down. However, the second half of the book moved much faster and gripped me much more.
As I said, I enjoyed this book. I will be reading more. In fact, I have already completed Black Star (review to follow soon) and I’m into Ember Falls now. Recommended.