Book Review: Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

Dear Readers, Aliens and Creatures, I have come to a conclusion- I do not like the mixture of weakness, helplessness and stupidity. It makes for frustrating female characters. 😔 ‘Before She Ignites’ gives me all of these.

▪️PSA:

Going food-less or water-less for 4 days – unless you have a very serious precondition – will not kill you.

▪️BASICS:

Official title: Before She Ignites

My title: Watch Me Grow

Author: @unicornwarlord #jodimeadows

Publisher: @harpercollins

Fav character: Lex

Type: Book – Series

Will I read the others: Yes, at least the next one.

4.2/5

▪️INTRO:

First off, 👏👏👏 kudos to Jodi Meadows for writing a book filled with brown characters, whose skin colours and tones she tries to describe.

While I would have recommended adding descriptors like: coffee, dark chocolate, dark honey, rust undertone, etc, and gradients like, ‘darker than me’, ‘lighter than me’, ‘redder than me’, ‘yellower than me’, when the characters were referring to others, overall it was very well done. 👏👏👏

▪️REVIEW:

The Mira Treaty was created to ensure that the great isles, made of the fallen gods, be places of beauty, equality and helpfulness. It was set up to protect the 6 different peoples, their culture, their way of life. It was developed to grant opportunities. Under the treaty, dragons are to be protected and revered. They are children of the gods and must be taken care of. As the creator of the treaty, Mira’s father ensured his family always held prominence- his daughter represented and spoke for the treaty and the treaty was named after her. 

These things would have kept her oblivious and happy her whole life… If only she hadn’t found out secrets… secrets regarding the council and the dragons she loves so dearly; like them going missing. If only she hadn’t found out these secrets and if only she hadn’t trusted the wrong people. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have ended up as a prisoner in the worst prison on all of the isles… The Pit. 

In the Pit baths are few and far between (🤢), food is scarce, while torture and cruelty abound. In a place filled with such desperation, who can be trusted?

Mira, the girl who was not built for living, only for being a pretty bauble, will have to live. She will have to face her ineptitudes, her lack of anything resembling awareness or sense and her pity parties, to protect herself, her friends, dragons and even the isles.

Mira is pathetic, but there is some growth. Mira teaches us that even the weakest can find hope, purpose and strength in their despair. Even the weakest can wrap the fears about them and stand for something, try to make a change. Mira becomes tolerable… once you can make it through the book. 🙈

But, to Bathe every ten days ONLY?! What cruel and unnatural punishment is this?

▪️OBSERVATIONS:

▪️Given the way these people were living and the state of the Pit, not to mention that the Khulani isle appears to be tropical, there should have been A LOT of vermin: Cockroaches, rats, mosquitoes, ants and other creepy crawlies. There should have also been more people dying because of these.

▪️I think this author takes too much pleasure in writing weak female characters. Ones you’d never like to meet because they’d irritate the hell out of you. Ones you would never befriend because you would always have to be speaking up for them… Looking out for them… Ekk… SAVE ME! NO! 

▪️I noticed this based on this Fallen Isles series and her Orphan Queen series also. I was willing to forgive certain behaviours in book one, because the overall writing was good, but I became frustrated and fed up by book 2, prompting me to quit the series. I hope that doesn’t happen with this current trilogy.

▪️CONCLUSION:

Weakness vs. Stupidity vs. Kindness (my definitions/observations of the behaviours)

Where to draw the line?

🌑

Weakness: Not trying to do better or be better, often times with a majestic pity party. Expecting people to forgive you for doing nothing and not trying. Expecting understanding and forgiveness for less than mediocrity. 

🌑

Stupidity: Knowing what some issues and challenges are/could be and still refusing to critically think before making choices. Not reflecting before making decisions or taking steps, even when you have time to reflect. 

🌑

Kindness: Choosing to make a decision to benefit someone else. It may or may not also benefit you.

Over to you! What are your thoughts on weakness, stupidity and kindness in books?