Tess of the Road - tildebooks

544 pages

Published Feb. 27, 2018 by Penguin Teen.

ISBN:: 978-0-385-68588-7

(2 reviews)

In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of those things. Tess is...different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep away from trouble. Then Tess goes too far. What she's done is so disgraceful she can't even allow herself to think of it. Unfortunately, the past cannot be ignored. So Tess's family decides that the only path for her is a nunnery.

But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away; she's running toward something. What that something is, she doesn't know. Tess just sees the open road as a map to somewhere else--a life where she might belong. …

In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of those things. Tess is...different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep away from trouble. Then Tess goes too far. What she's done is so disgraceful she can't even allow herself to think of it. Unfortunately, the past cannot be ignored. So Tess's family decides that the only path for her is a nunnery.

But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away; she's running toward something. What that something is, she doesn't know. Tess just sees the open road as a map to somewhere else--a life where she might belong.

In a return to the spellbinding world of the Southlands created in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling novel Seraphina, Rachel Hartman explores self-reliance and redemption in this wholly original fantasy.

This description comes from the publisher. Tess of the Road takes place in the world first described in Seraphina.

4 editions

dozens reviewed Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Review of 'Tess of the Road' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Who recommended it to me ##

tomasino posted a pretty stellar review recently, and I generally am into stuff that tomasino is into, so I thought I'd give it a spin!

## How to read this book ##

In one sitting, turning the pages as fast as possible.

## What I liked ##

So much. Too much to list here.

Look, let's make a story golem: if the the meat of a story is its characters, and the story itself, the plot; then the bones of the story are all the things that support the meat, that allow the plot to progress, the whole world setting. In this book, that's the politics--each nation with rich language, ways of dressing, etc--the pantheon of saints and deities, the dragons and the quigutl, the dragon-kin. Especially the quigutl: so alien and relatable, their language and culture permeating throughout the whole story.

This book …

Who recommended it to me ##

tomasino posted a pretty stellar review recently, and I generally am into stuff that tomasino is into, so I thought I'd give it a spin!

## How to read this book ##

In one sitting, turning the pages as fast as possible.

## What I liked ##

So much. Too much to list here.

Look, let's make a story golem: if the the meat of a story is its characters, and the story itself, the plot; then the bones of the story are all the things that support the meat, that allow the plot to progress, the whole world setting. In this book, that's the politics--each nation with rich language, ways of dressing, etc--the pantheon of saints and deities, the dragons and the quigutl, the dragon-kin. Especially the quigutl: so alien and relatable, their language and culture permeating throughout the whole story.

This book has great bones.

Also, the incredible amount of fluidity of gender, self, and identity: the way quigutl--Pathka, specifically--change genders. Tess adopts several personas in her travels on the road, all of them male. She is herself reborn on the Road, just as Anathuthia presumably will be reborn.

I already checked out the two Seraphina books and hope to dive into them soon.

## What I didn't like ##

At first I really hated Tess's bleak, oppressive home life and her bleak, abusive family. She had to have something to flee from though, I guess. It's an important part of who she is, and an important part of why she had to go on her journey.

Tomasino reviewed Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Review of 'Tess of the Road' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was likely the best book I read all year. What a surprising gem hidden in a YA Fantasy guise. There's so much more here, honestly. It's refreshing to find an author who can write with wit and pain and a deep understanding of theme. By all accounts this is a pristine example of character-driven fantasy, but it excels because it is so much more.

I would warn readers not to pick this up if you expect any action in the least. While there is a great wealth to be found, it is almost all internal. Honestly, this book deserves either 5 stars or 1 star depending on how you approach that aspect alone.