September 18, 2015

Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson


Title: Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1) 
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: September 22nd 2015
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC

Rating: 4/5

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The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research. 

From Rae Carson I´ve read her Fire and Thorns trilogy which I loved, so I could not wait to read another book from her and although this is different sub genre, I must say that I really enjoyed it and is a very good first book of a series/trilogy.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is a historical-paranormal novel that takes place during the gold rush of 1849 in the United States and follows the path of Leah "Lee" Westfall, a 15 years old girl at the beginning of the story. Leah is the daughter of a gold prospector nicknamed Lucky, because he has always been lucky find a good amount of gold on his property in Dahlonega, Georgia, but what nobody knows (only Leah's parents know) is that she has a "gift" for sensing/detecting gold and can easily find it.

And at the beginning of the story the people of Dahlonega receive the news that gold have been discovered in California so this cause buzz by residents of the town because they are debating with the possibility of making the trip to California and settle there. And due to an event that happens to Leah´s family, she decides to escape and make the perilous journey to California, and she decides to dress as a boy, because of all the dangers that she could face, in addition to not be right for a lady making the trip without a chaperon. So Leah (or Lee when she´s dressed as a boy) with some money embarks on a dangerous journey to California which will take several months by horse and boat, plus she´ll get a job assisting families during the travel to California. And during this trip Lee hopes to find her best friend Jefferson McCauley, whom traveled to California days before her.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is primarily a historical novel, as the paranormal element is minor, is in this installment only used to indicate that Leah is special and that in the environment where she lives, it could be dangerous if someone finds out about her secret. I really enjoyed it!

Book trailer

2 comments:

  1. I'm reading this next after I finish Dreamland. So excited this would be my first experience with this author and i'm very excited to begin.

    Aparajita @Le' Grande Codex

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  2. I liked this one too, but not as much :P I thought it felt too much like an introduction to whatever's going to happen later on. I just wanted more background in this. But it's definitely a good historical style novel, and I'm eager to see what comes next.
    Great review!

    Richa @ City of Books

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