About the Book
Book: Swift
Author: RJ Anderson
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Release Date: August 18, 2020
To save her people, a wingless girl must learn to fly.
As a piskey girl born without wings and raised underground, Ivy yearns for flight almost as much as she misses her long-lost mother. But the world outside the Delve is full of danger, and her dreams seem hopeless until she meets a mysterious faery who makes her an enticing offer: If Ivy helps him escape the Delve’s dungeon, he’ll teach her how to fly.
Freeing Richard could cost Ivy her reputation, perhaps even her life. But when her fellow piskeys start to disappear and her beloved little sister goes missing, Ivy has no choice but to take the risk.
Deadly threats and shocking revelations await Ivy as she ventures into a strange new world, uncovers long-buried secrets about her family’s past, and finds that no one—not even herself—is entirely what they seem.
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My Thoughts:
Swift was an engaging read that blends Cornish folktales with the modern day human world. I had never heard of piskeys and wondered if it was a misspelling. I ended up looking it up and found out about a new to me little person.
This story starts out six years before the main action begins. Something dreadful happens that affects the life of a family- at the time, the main charactrer Ivy is 13. Ivy is a piskey girl who was born without wings, only knubs where they should have been, and for awhile had been very sickly. But as she grows and secrets of her past and of her beloved home come to the surface, Ivy finds strength to pursue the truth even when the fear is very great.
Ivy also meets some characters who actually end up being good for her and trustworthy companions no matter the scary stories that have been told about their kind.
This story was about finding truth and stepping out of your comfort zone and realizing that fear can and will control you if you let it. This is just the first in this series and I look forward to the others. I recommend this book to adults, young adults, and even younger children who would like to listen to it. This was a fun fantasy mixed with our world fairy tale.
I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
About the Author
Born in Uganda to missionary parents, R.J. (Rebecca Joan) Anderson is a women’s Bible teacher, a wife and mother of three, and a bestselling fantasy author for older children and teens. Her debut novel Knife has sold more than 120,000 copies worldwide, while her other books have been shortlisted for the Nebula Award, the Christy Award, and the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Science Fiction. Rebecca lives with her family in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
More from R.J. Anderson
FEAR, FAITH AND LEARNING TO FLY
What would you give to feel safe? If you could hide from all life’s dangers and anyone who might harm you, and spend your whole life in a beautiful, comfortable home surrounded by friends, family and all the necessities of life, would you?
That’s the kind of place that Ivy, the teenaged heroine of Swift, has grown up in — a glittering underground complex called the Delve, where safety and protection are paramount, and young girls especially are warned not to take foolish risks. Like climbing the wall of the Great Shaft that leads to the surface, for instance. Or going outside for any reason, except for two special nights of the year. In the world of modern-day Cornwall, the converted tin mine where Ivy and her fellow piskeys live is their only refuge from scheming faeries, greedy humans, and their deadliest enemies of all, the spriggans. And since Ivy’s mother was stolen by the spriggans six years ago, Ivy knows all too well how dangerous the outside world can be.
But as Ivy discovers when she stumbles on a mysterious Shakespeare-quoting prisoner in her people’s dungeon, safety isn’t everything. If “Richard” is telling the truth about what happened to Ivy’s long-lost mother, there may be more going on in the Delve — and outside it — than Ivy ever guessed. How far will she go to find the truth?
When I first started writing Swift, one of the ideas I wanted to explore was how much our prejudices and false perceptions limit us. Ivy’s been taught to fear everything and everyone outside the Delve, and that her poor health and lack of wings means she will never be worthy or whole. But when she starts to ask questions and search for answers, Ivy discovers that much of what she’s always believed is a lie.
What I didn’t realize until I’d finished writing the whole Flight and Flame trilogy is that in many ways, Ivy’s story parallels that of Moses in the book of Exodus. Like Moses when God first called him, Ivy doesn’t think she has anything to offer her people, or any chance of convincing the stern, suspicious piskey queen to set them free. But when Ivy learns to look beyond her fears and self-doubts and step out in faith — even if she’s not sure yet what it means or where it will lead her — extraordinary things happen and her world begins to change.
We all crave safety and security. But if we refuse to step outside our comfort zones or ever question our prejudices, our lives and hearts will stagnate. It’s only when we open ourselves up to truth and act on it, even if it’s hard or unpopular to do so, that we can truly soar.
I’ve loved writing Ivy’s story. I hope you’ll love reading it, too.
— R.J. Anderson (www.rj-anderson.com)
Blog Stops
Inklings
and notions, August 31
Blogging With
Carol, August 31
Through
the Fire Blogs, September 1
Pause for
Tales, September 2
Debbie’s
Dusty Deliberations, September 2
Worthy2read,
September 3
Texas Book-aholic,
September 4
The Book
Chic Blog, September 4
For Him and My
Family, September 5
deb’s Book
Review, September 5
Locks, Hooks
and Books, September 6
Library Lady’s
Kid Lit, September 7
Mia Reads,
September 7
Artistic
Nobody, September 8 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
For the
Love of Literature, September 9
Daughter
of Increase, September 9
Ashley’s
Bookshelf, September 10
Simple Harvest
Reads, September 11 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Vicky Sluiter,
September 11
Because I
said so — and other adventures in Parenting, September 12
Adventures
of a Travelers Wife, September 13
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, R.J. is giving away the grand prize package of a signed and personalized bookplate, two bookmarks, and two beautiful blank-inside notecards with artwork by Kirk DouPonce and Rory Kurtz!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Thank you for reading, reviewing and recommending SWIFT! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story.
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