Reader (The Reader, #1)

by Traci Chee

Instant New York Times Bestseller

A stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of, perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible.

With overlapping stories of swashbuckling pirates and merciless assassins, The Reader is a brilliantly told adventure from an extraordinary new talent.

• ISBN13: 9780606400015
• Publish Date: 5 September 2017 (first published 13 September 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 March 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

I really tried hard with this audiobook but I couldn't. Nothing wrong with the book or the narrator, I just couldn't get my mental image right for the words to keep straight the different countries, terms, etc about the world building and couldn't build the world right. This is one I'm going to have to read.

Just making a note for myself to keep track. If you're new to audiobooks or have trouble tracking unusual words without a visual, I'd stick with the hard copy for this one.

[lisbethwhite]

So slow to start, but then BLAMMO, dang, SO GOOD.

[Stephanie]

This is a book.
This is a good book.
This is a great book.
This book messed with my brain a little (a lot).
Please go read this book.

[Heather]

Looking at reviews of this book it seems like this is either a book you adore or one that you don't understand at all. I'm in the don't understand category.

The premise seems good. A girl's family is killed and she goes on the run with the thing that they were guarding - a book. No one reads in this time so she doesn't know why the book is important.

Ok, that seems like a good start. But it starts to break down quickly.

I kept reading this book because I was certain it had to go somewhere and have everything tie together eventually. I was wrong. It wasted a great premise. This is supposedly the first book in a series so maybe it will all make sense eventually but I don't want to slog through more books to find out.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

The Reader lures its audience in with the concept of a horrifyingly empty world—one where books do no exist and no one knows how to read.  At least, it’s supposed to.  Personally, I couldn’t care less that The Reader is a book about books; I enjoyed it mostly for its fantasy/adventure aspects.   I liked the characters and the quest and the romance and the pirates.  The parts about books actually fell flat for me, and I felt free to ignore them.

In the first place, The Reader does not fully explore what it means to be a world without books, which I think is a disservice to oral culture.  The very first page mentions this culture with seeming reverence.  Chee writes, “They remembered their histories with their voices and bodies, repeating them over and over until the stories became part of them, and the legends were as real as their own tongues and lungs and hearts.”  This passing is moving, but basically that’s all the audience gets.   There are, remarkably, practically no storytellers in this book whom Sefia ever encounters.  A few characters are said to be thirsty for stories, but the references are always in passing.  There are also vague references to the fact the “news boys” stand and shout the news in the market rather than selling papers, or to the fact that shop signs use symbols rather than words.  Yet Chee, in her quest to exalt the book and the written word, missed a profound opportunity to actually portray an oral culture.

Despite this, the message that books are marvelous is actually less heavy-handed than I initially featured. However, I did think it could have been more complex.  Chee tries to access the feelings one would have upon first discovering words and reading, but glosses over the moment too quickly to do it justice. Sefia is obsessed with the first line she ever reads “This is a book,” which I think it highly relatable and realistic.  However, the follow-up is simplistic.  The question is “Is anything with words written on it a book?” To which I want to just say “no” and mutter about conflating texts and books and such.  And then there’s a lot of heavy-handed stuff about books containing all the knowledge in the world and knowledge being power, etc.

This didn’t overly trouble me as I was reading the novel because I was really invested in the characters and the adventure of the plot.  Sefia is a strong protagonist, confident and skilled, but with enough flaws to make her believable.  She’s rounded out by companions with complementary skills, which I thought was great.  I loved following her on her adventures as she ran from murderers, tried to track down her kidnapped aunt, and looked for answers about her parents and the mysterious book they left behind.  The fact that Sefia was carrying a book at all was irrelevant to me.  I think I would have liked the novel just as much if she’d been carrying an enchanted brick or a magic block of cheese.

Readers, really, get a little bit of everything that makes fantasy great.  Feuding kingdoms. Secret societies.  Assassins. Pirates.  Mysteries. Romance.  I guess the book was supposed to be deep, but mostly I just thought it was fun.   I feel obliged to drop at least a start off the rating because I do think Chee missed her goal in writing a “book about books.”  Still, despite the fact I have no idea what the second book is going to be about (Sefia has more questions than answers at this point) I do know that I want to read it.  And since I drop so many series after reading only book one, that’s pretty high praise from me.

While some here have pointed areas in which this book may be lacking, i have to disagree. This is a fabulous book which does exactly what fantasy novels are supposed to do. It transports you to a completely different world. And when you close the book and come back to reality, you take a bit of that world with you.

Although there were slow moments and moments that could have used a little more context, they were few and far between. Allow yourself to get sucked in and i know you won't regret it.

[kimbacaffeinate]

I am still trying to wrap my head around the delightful things contained within this novel/audio. The Reader is a début novel, and the writing has a flow and beauty rarely seen from seasoned authors. From the very first page I was drawn into this world, captivated by its characters, intrigued, and horrified by the concept. This story takes place in a world where books no longer exist, where the written word is lost.

After her father’s brutal murder, Sefia, and her Aunt Nin fled into the wilderness, going into towns to pickpocket and pilfer their wares. Those who sought a rare, powerful item, a book that Sefia carries in the bottom of her sack murdered her father. When those who find the book kidnap Nin, Sefia’s journey begins.

The item in Sefia’s pack is a book, but she does not know the name of this mysterious object only that father protected it. It is the reason she was kept hidden and why her mother taught her such strange things as a child. With Nin gone, she is desperate to find her but also curious. Alone in the woods she opens the strange book and unleashes its magic. The tale that unfolds left me breathless.

The story like many fantasies has many interconnecting and shifting storylines from cold, merciless assassins, secret librarians and pirates on the open sea. Chee weaves them all into the story as Sefia encounters characters along the way who become significant parts of the tale. None of the characters are two-dimensional, and I wager you will develop strong feelings for all of them.

Adventure on the high sea, ruthless chases in the jungle, treks into dangerous unknown territories and battles with assassins. The world building is vivid and filled with both wonder and horror. I can not imagine a world without books, let alone one without written words. I was thirsty for information, rewarded and yet craved more. When this happens, I know I have a discovered a story that will continue to pull me in. Chee brilliantly brought the story and imagery to life with a hundred and one quotable lines you’ll want to highlight. At times, the story is so thrilling and exciting your heart bursts with excitement and other scenes leave you cringing and holding your breath.

Every moment spent with the book was magic, and I loved discovering things along with Sefia. Her transformation throughout the book was interesting. Sefia is driven, compassionate and fearless in her aid to others. Her transformation from fearful misfit to fantastic heroine felt genuine. She develops a close friendship with a young man when she unknowingly saves him from the bowels of hell. Feelings emerge between them as they travel together. However, the relationship develops slowly, and I look forward to seeing it bloom.

Some stories are meant to be read aloud, and the audible narration of The Reader by narrator Kim Mai Guest is such a story. I could not stop listening as Guest captured the tone of the story and Sefia's quest. She brought the characters emotions to life, set the pacing and pulled me in with her accent and unique voices. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

Full review on The Bent Bookworm

This is one of those books that grabs you and just doesn’t let go. I finished it four days ago and I still find myself thinking about the characters and wondering about them. It ended not so much on a cliffhanger exactly, as just leaving us with SO MANY QUESTIONS. Not only of the “what happens next” variety, but of the “why did they do that” and “how did THAT happen” sort.

The story is set in a world where reading is prohibited and books are unknown.

Well, that was certainly MY reaction to that idea, but these people quite literally don’t know what they’re missing. It’s just the way their world is, and no one remembers (or perhaps never knew) anything different.

Two curves for her parents, a curve for Nin. The straight line for herself. The circle for what she had to do.

There are several story threads throughout. Usually I find this annoying but somehow these all blended just enough to make sense and keep me from getting confused (which is quite an accomplishment). I liked how some of them eventually came together – now, the ones that didn’t…I still have ALL THE QUESTIONS about and the suspense is killing me.

The world is beautiful yet stark, amazing and yet creepy AF. It’s detailed, with several different territories/countries and vying lords. If this were an RPG game, I would go explore every. single. one. They all have slightly different cultures with common threads. Chee’s writing brings them all to life in vivid color.

In Kelanna, when you die, they don’t say prayers for you, for they have no heaven and no gods to pray to. There is no reincarnation; you will not return. Without a body, ou are nothing anymore, except for a story.

There are also pirates and ships and sailors and the navy. And in this world, women are treated as complete equals – no one ever doubts if they have a place in the crew, or the military, or anything. It’s awesome. There’s also this amazing song that I would LOVE to hear set to real world music. I was going to add it as a quote but decided you should really discover it for yourself in the actual book.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 stars

**An ARC of the book was obtained through an online contest

This book tells the epic tale of Sefia, who is seeking revenge for her mother, for her father, for Nin. She is following the trail of the symbol on the book.

"Two curves for her parents, a curve for Nin. The straight line for herself. The circle for what she had to do: Learn what the book was for. Rescue Nin. And if she could, make them pay."

This book is a sought after object in a land where very few can decipher the written words. The ones who could unlock the magic of the words, The Readers, were quite powerful, as they could read more than words.

I was immediately immersed in this story from page 1. Sefia is such a complex character, and I loved seeing all her facets throughout this tale. There is a ton of action and adventure, as Sefia and Archer follow the trail to the symbol.

Chee created a multitude of interesting characters (Archer, Reed and his crew, Sefia, The Second, Lon), and did a great job with her world building (I even learned how to play a new game!). The structure of the book is one that I am very fond of. Chee give us vignettes, which focus on a small group of characters, and all pull together towards the end. I LOVED one of the reveals. It was a very interesting addition to the story. And Archer! I just could not get enough of him. Although, this story did not end with this book (it is book 1 of the series), Chee gave me enough answers to questions that were raised. She revealed enough of the mystery and its origins to satisfy my need to know, but left enough mystery to leave me longing for the next book.

Here's hoping the next book is soon to come. Fingers crossed (**swoon**)