About the Author:
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Kimberley Griffiths Little was born in San Francisco, but now lives in New Mexico with her husband and their three sons.
For such award-winning middle grade novels as When the Butterflies Came, The Last Snake Runner, The Healing Spell, and Circle of Secrets, her writing has been praised as "fast-paced and dramatic," with "characters painted in memorable detail" and "beautifully realized settings."
Kimberley adores anything old and musty with a secret story to tell and makes way too many cookies while writing.
She's stayed in the haunted tower room at Borthwick Castle in Scotland; sailed on the Seine in Paris; ridden a camel in Petra, Jordan; shopped the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; and spent the night in an old Communist hotel in Bulgaria.
Her amazing, filmed-on-location book trailers are right here on Goodreads.https://www.goodreads.com/videos/list...
Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011 & 2014, Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist.
Watch the Trailer!
Praise for Forbidden
*STARRED* Review, ALA BOOKLIST
". . . At its core, this is a romance, with all the push and pull that goes along with impossible love, and Little elevates the story by creating a perilous landscape, both outward and inward, as Jayden must deal with the hardship of desert life as well as her own desires."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"This is a fast-paced, entertaining choice which will appeal to fans of historical fiction and romance."
"Lush, lyrical, romantic. Forbidden transports readers into a vividly imagined place and time."
--Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author
"The harsh beauty of the deserts of ancient Mesopotamia come to life in Forbidden, with beautiful descriptions that will make you crave water and check for sand in your clothes. Your heart will break as you root for Jayden to triumph over the many struggles that threaten to tear her world apart, and the ending will leave you thirsting for more!"
--Sara B. Larson, author of Defy
"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."
Review:
What I loved best about Forbidden would definitely be the descriptions. The setting was so vivid, and all of the characters were described really well. The world-building was fairly strong, but it was hard to keep track of all the settings. Scenes would transition so quickly that I'd be blinking and asking myself how Jayden even got there. Honestly, some of these scene transitions were too quick, and there really was no flow. Some of the scenes could be sluggishly slow while other scenes would jump from one event to another I didn't know where I was going.
Despite the uneven pace, I enjoyed the plot- it was fresh and interesting; especially since I've barely read any books taking place in a desert. And the culture and traditions in Forbidden was detailed and wonderfully written.
This book mostly focused on Jayden and her growth as time passed. Although I would have liked a little more on other characters (especially her sister), I really enjoyed how Jayden found herself and her strength as the story progressed.
Despite the uneven pace, I enjoyed the plot- it was fresh and interesting; especially since I've barely read any books taking place in a desert. And the culture and traditions in Forbidden was detailed and wonderfully written.
This book mostly focused on Jayden and her growth as time passed. Although I would have liked a little more on other characters (especially her sister), I really enjoyed how Jayden found herself and her strength as the story progressed.
Some of the things that happened to her was terrifying, and I think some of the events were downplayed a bit.
The romance was not the best part of the book, but it wasn't terribly written. I just didn't like how Griffiths tried to portray it as "forbidden"- it didn't really have that feel- and it was insta-love (one of my biggest pet peeves). The love interest, Kadesh, also seemed like a cardboard cutout character with not much uniqueness of his own. Thankfully, Jayden's character was able to compensate for that and the romance was scattered throughout the book so that it wasn't tiring to read.
The romance was not the best part of the book, but it wasn't terribly written. I just didn't like how Griffiths tried to portray it as "forbidden"- it didn't really have that feel- and it was insta-love (one of my biggest pet peeves). The love interest, Kadesh, also seemed like a cardboard cutout character with not much uniqueness of his own. Thankfully, Jayden's character was able to compensate for that and the romance was scattered throughout the book so that it wasn't tiring to read.
Overall Forbidden was a glittering, unique read with lots of descriptive dances (which I loved) and a strong main character. I would recommend this for fantasy lovers who like books with a distinctive setting.
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 1/4/15
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