The Reader by Traci Chee

The 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.

Reviewed by Heather on

2 of 5 stars

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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

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 January, 2017: Finished reading
  • 20 January, 2017: Reviewed