Book Review: Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Title: The Glass Arrow

Author: Kristen Simmons

Publisher: TorTeen

Release Date: February 10, 2015
Format Read: Hardback

Description from Goodreads: THE HANDMAID'S TALE meets BLOOD RED ROAD in GLASS ARROW, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.

In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year-old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya's luck runs out and she's caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

After winning THE GLASS ARROW in a giveaway, I started it the day after it came in the mail. What I expected from the prose was, sadly, not what I got.

From the prose, I expected a strong female character. The kind that doesn't need saving, because she can handle herself. After all, she's "Successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence". But that's not what I got-- in fact, it was the exact opposite. Aya relied on someone else to try to help her escape from the auctions, and for thinking about escaping so much, she didn't ever TRY to do anything.

Another thing is that this book is based heavily on sex and breeding, which the prose mentioned, but I didn't expect it to be quite the way it was. For a YA fantasy, GLASS ARROW was pretty sexual. At times, I felt like it should have been an adult novel instead of YA.

For me, THE GLASS SWORD was a single star book. It started out pretty great, and slowly teetered off from there. Though I read it fast, I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I had hoped I would.

(Un)Happily,

Stephanie