Blog Tour: Review: P.O.W.ER by Lisa A. Kramer + Excerpt
Such empowering content!
What would happen if women and girls joined their unique abilities together to
change the world? In a world where access to the written word is reserved to
men, Andra BetScrivener has been able to read and write ever since she was a
little girl without anyone teaching her. She must keep her abilities a secret in
the country of New North, or she could lose her hands, her eyes or her life. In
fact, the only paths offered to her–and all young women–are to either marry or
enter the government-run Women’s Training Program, where she’ll be taught
“feminine” arts like drawing, painting, and homemaking.
On her seventeenth birthday, Andra discovers that her abilities extend beyond
reading. She can write events to life. As she begins to explore her new ability,
she must take care not to jeopardize her father’s job as head scrivener at
the Ministry. Despite her efforts to keep her powers hidden, she comes to the
attention of both the government and a rebel group, who each desire to use
Andra for their own goals. At the same time, she begins to meet other gifted
women who have never dared use their unique powers. With the help of her
friends Brian and Lauren—who has the ability to read minds—Andra must find a
way to unite the power of women to create change.
When one side manipulates Andra’s words into killing someone, and the other
threatens her father’s life and her own freedom, Andra decides to use her
writing to empower others to stop governmental oppression. But in a society
ruled by lies, cruelty, and inequality her journey will not be easy or safe.
Her latest book is the YA speculative/feminist fiction, P.O.W.ER.
:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･
★★★★★
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
You've got the oppression, the sexist vibe, the feminist counteract, and the those in favor of equality.
This held so much controversial stuff, It was like having your favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But your pig-headed older brother eat your portion, therefore leaving you hungry. Well, that's exactly how I felt. Hungry, For what? For some change. For the bad to end in good. Not to have corrupt ministers use religion to justify the means. To just put every bad thing done under the rug, because nobody likes to air out their dirty laundry. That shit stank.
This was not just a piece of fiction, this held meaning, there was a cause. This had a bunch of everything, so this cannot be solely a book of feminism. The end game was equality, although it needed a feminist movement in order to get as far away as possible from the sexist, backward society the people lived in.
Young Andra BetScrivener just turned seventeen. And in this society, where men held all power and knowledge and the women were forbidden to read and write, she has finally entered womanhood. Thus, allowing her to began finding a husband. Go figure. There are many things that happen once she discovers her own unique power, so pay very close attention because things get very interesting.
Andra and her pacifist-like morals were so sweet and naive, but her sense of knowledge and reading and writing was very impressive, considering she learned but was never taught. At times I thought of here as a young pre-teen, or someone sheltered from the reality of life with the way she acts. Especially when she was around her father and Brian, it would show a flip side of her as well.
In the end, things were very nicely polished and didn't leave any thing out. I would've died if there was a cliff hanger.
Overall, this read was extremely riveting, and I highly recommend this to both men and women. This was seriously some good stuff.
Excerpt:
My stomach dropped as soon as Dad entered the kitchen scowling at a
thick card embossed with the government seal. My hand started to shake so
much that I had to put down my mug of tea. I knew this day was coming. After
all, it was my seventeenth birthday, the first day of the last year of my life.
“That’s the letter, isn’t it?”
Dad looked at me with one of his half smiles, the one that never
reached his eyes. I hadn’t seen him smile with genuine happiness for years, not
since Mother died. This smile made no effort to cover the sadness and defeat
in his face. “Pour me some cocoa, please.” He lowered himself into his
customary chair next to me, “I’ll do my civic duty and read this to you.”
“I could always read it myself,” I said. I waited for him to respond the
way he always did. I hoped that provoking him a little would reawaken the Dad
who let me believe I could do anything, while still protecting me from the
cruelty of our society. That Dad had disappeared over recent years.
“Andra!” he said, “You know I don’t like you to say that out loud. You
never know if someone might be listening. If I could let you read everywhere, I
would. We can’t let your secret get out.”
“I’m sorry.” I handed Dad his cocoa and watched as he took several sips.
For a moment he closed his eyes and his face relaxed. The secret to giving him
those brief moments was in the cocoa. I make it just like Mother used to. She
left us too soon to teach me all her cooking secrets, but she taught me a few.
She was a woman who turned everything she touched into something beautiful,
warm and comforting. She could make people calm even in the most terrifying
circumstances. Mother and Dad both made me believe that my future wasn’t
set in the same stone used to build the giant walls that separated New North
from the outside world. Mother believed that somehow they would find a way
to return to some of the freedoms of the past and make a better future for all
women. She never got the chance to do that. She died and Dad grew afraid.
“Ah, perfect as always. Now, to do my duty.” Dad put his mug down and
brought my attention back to the thick card, or the envelope of doom, as I
thought of it. The government seal—the Eye of the Lord—gleamed with a hint
of gold ink as it caught the light from the sun shining through the window. It
sent a shiver down my spine, as if the eye was really watching me.
About the Author:
central Massachusetts.
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