"Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.
Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.
Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?" (Amazon synopsis)
Rabbits? That
has to be something cute like Beatrix Potter’s stories, right? That’s what I
thought when I heard about this book by S.D. Smith. I picked it up anyway since
it looked all right and might be something my little sisters would enjoy.
Rabbits, seriously? No, these rabbits are different—they have swords, and a
war, and a lost king. They have a well-written, compelling story (good enough
to have quotes out of it!) that surprised me with its depth of plot. The cover
shows that it was probably intended for middle graders. Sorry, eight-to-twelve-year-olds,
I claim it. It’s mine.
The Setting: Set in the
fantasy world of Natalia—a world very much like our own—this book had a nice
heroic and medieval feel. Since it’s told from the perspective of rabbits, that
made the action quite different from your usual book; and it also made the
regular dangers of the forest even scarier. Seriously, imagine being able to
jump around like crazy while you are sword fighting or to give a wolf a hard
kick with your hind legs.
The Story: The story was
very good, better than some things I’ve read that are for older audiences! At
first glance, it seems quite similar to all the other
oh-wow-we’re-the-lost-heirs-of-wherever books. Not so in the least! Very
surprising and satisfying. There were
also great lessons on forgiveness and heart-warming (even funny!) moments along
the way.
The Characters: I loved Heather
and Picket—they were so real. (I even forgot they were rabbits at some points.)
Emma, Gort, Uncle Wilfred, and Smalls were also great favorites of mine. I
found Kyle and Helmer intriguing and couldn’t wait to find out who they really
were.
The Concerns: Parents should
have caution in choosing this book for younger readers because of some intense,
un-graphic action and some bad attitude that is later resolved. Also, SPOILER
ALERT!!!! Heather and Picket’s home is burnt by some pretty scary wolves, and
they don’t know what happened to their parents and baby brother. And because
they are rabbits (that’s not important though, right?) when they are
underground there is mention of creepy creatures chasing them and the wolves do
threaten to eat them sometimes. And, SPOILER ALERT AGAIN!!! massive battle at
the end does mention rabbits being dead or wounded.
So—read this
book!!!!! I found it to be an awesome, well-written story! It is actually the
second book, but it can pretty much stand-alone.
This review is
getting dangerously long. You can drop off now, or you can stick around for
some really awesome quotes. ; )
“Like the
blazing branch they had only just escaped, the rain came down suddenly, with no
pitter-patter of polite introduction.”
Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations
137-138). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.
“What do I
always tell you? ‘Not enough salt is an in-salt,’ and ‘Too much salt is an
as-salt!’”
Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Location
1432). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.
“This is from
wisdom, child,” Mrs. Weaver said. “Growing up is terribly wonderful. But often
it’s also wonderfully terrible. Ha, a riddle of words amounting to nothing. A
stuttering cleverism that falls as short as my feeble steps. But this is true.
A teacher could become rich if he ever perfected the art of helping mature
students unlearn many awful things. Enjoy your innocence, my dear. Even if it
only lasts the day.”
Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations
2386-2389). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.
“He turned to
look at Picket, and there were tears in his eyes. “Picket,” he said quietly,
“stay angry. It’s okay if it’s at me, for now. If you aren’t angry about the
wicked things happening in the world all around, then you don’t have a soul.”
Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations
1017-1019). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.
And I, Lady
Kate, leave you with this—the poetic Green Ember pledge. We nerds love it over
here. ; )
“Picket smiled.
“My place beside you. My blood for yours. Till the Green Ember rises, or the
end of the world.”
Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations
3366-3367). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.
