They always tell us not to judge a book by its cover, but despite this repeated warning I always stray away from books with irregular cover art, thinking that the book will be horrible. This was certainly the case when my friend recommended A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR).
I am a young adult novel fan through and through but there was something so off-putting about the book from the outside that I had no desire to read it. When my friend insisted that it was amazing I finally did and I was not disappointed.
ACOTAR is about a girl named Feyre whose family is living in poverty. While most of the human world struggles with being poor, the other part of the world, the faerie lands, are full of wealthy people with magical powers. One day Feyre is kidnapped by a faerie and taken to their realm where she has a whole bunch of crazy experiences.
I am not going to give you more of a summary because the synopsis sounds weird and I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit out of the ordinary especially if you aren’t into fantasy. But, what I loved most about this series were the themes that arose as I continued to read.
Through Feyre’s experiences the reader learns about what a healthy relationship is and what it looks like. It teaches young women that there are no boundaries to what she can do. It also highlights extraordinarily complicated family relationships that seem like they have no potential to be fixed, but how through time and work relationships can change.
I have tried to convince so many of my friends to read this book, and all of them are intimidated by the cover, BUT I did manage to get my sister to read it and she loves it as much as I do. I’m so glad I read this book despite the judgment that came up with my first impression because it opened a new world to me. If you’re looking for a new book you should definitely go to the Teen Section of your nearest bookstore (my favorite section) and pick up a copy.