Review of Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1) by Rae Carson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genres: YA; Historical Fiction

"Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.

Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.

She also has a secret.

Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.

When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey."

When I first found out this was going to be released my reaction was akin to that of a child getting her favorite toy back after a long and dreadful period of time-out. Because the period between Carson's releases is, in essence, a literary time-out. How can I enjoy life to its fullest in this time?

source

I can however, share my obsession love of her books, because I am a generous bookworm and believe that no one should be so sadly deprived.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is different from A Girl of Fire and Thorns in that, except for Lee's special abilities, it is less of a fantasy and almost wholly Historical Fiction. Not having read much Historical Fiction in the YA genre, I was really interested in how Carson would execute this story. I wasn't surprised to find myself completely swept up in Lee's journey.

The trials she faces, the fears she had of being labeled a witch, and her struggle just to survive--these all endeared her to me and had me rooting for her throughout the entire novel.

This is mostly a character-driven novel, but there are several conflicts they had to face. I loved the complexity of the characters, and seeing the way they interacted with each other. There was a lot of tension, a lot of compassion, and a lot of strife between them, which was so fascinating to see.

The romance was very light, and plot wasn't romance-driven at all. There was still romance (or at least, a promise of romance), but there was more of a focus on friendship, which is refreshing to see!

One thing I would have liked to see more of is the use of Lee's gift. I was looking forward to the magical aspects of the story, so I was just a bit let down when that didn't come into play as much as I'd hoped.

Despite that, I loved this book in its entirety! Absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves Historical Fiction or has enjoyed Rae Carson's A Girl of Fire and Thorns series.

Content: I can't think of anything except mild violence? This one is definitely clean!

View all my reviews / Author site / Amazon

Why are you still here? Go read one of Rae Carson's books! Or leave a comment on what you thought of Walk on Earth a Stranger below. :)