As part of their SuccessLink internships at the Boston Public Library, Teen Central's teen interns Abri and Elizabeth wrote reviews of young adult literature, evaluating whether BookTok favorites lived up to the hype or not. See Abri's thoughts on An Ember In the Ashes below, then check out the book for yourself and decide if you agree!
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Overall Book Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Synopsis:
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Introduction:
Once in a blue moon on my FYP, there comes a day where I find a hidden gem so beautiful and radiant that I wonder how no one has come across it before. An Ember in the Ashes was that gem.
What I Liked:
- Main characters: Laia and Elias are very real characters with very real motivations. There were almost no moments where I was screaming in frustration at my audiobook or had the urge to stop listening entirely to save myself the second hand embarrassment. Both protagonists are smart, capable, and even if they make mistakes, they are better people for them, which is something I rarely find in YA books. Elias in particular was one of my favorite characters—his internal conflict was fascinating.
- Side-characters: Special shoutout to Tahir’s treatment of the side characters. You may despise some of them, but you cannot deny that they are well-written. The book has a lot of people to keep track of, but you rarely feel like some characters are less thought out than others.
- The Villain: The antagonist is so, so terrifying and I love it. They actually add stakes to the book and were not afraid to make the main characters suffer. There is also an inherent complexity to the scenes they are in because of the nature of their character, and I applaud Tahir for creating such a twisted character.
- The Plot: Easily the best part of the book. It had me gasping, laughing, crying, and holding my breath on the train. You can tell Tahir spent a long time making sure every detail was right, deciding where to pull her punches and where to deliver gut-wrenching scenes. And the plot twists…jaw-dropping, eye-opening, life-changing. Even though the book is long, I genuinely enjoyed reading it a lot.
Critiques:
The beginning: The start of this book is its weakest point. Without knowing who Laia and Elias are, the opening chapters may seem a little slow or boring, and until the plot truly kicks off, you wonder where the book is going. This is also exacerbated by Tahir’s writing style, which is mostly very detailed and leads to longer chapters than usual. However, once it gets going, this book is very gripping and makes up for its lackluster start.
Conclusion:
Read this book. ASAP. Or even better, audiobook it. I have no regrets.
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