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Rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Retelling, YA
People who should read this: If you love action stories with a loose retelling and romance.
Who can remember that amazing movie called The Count of Monte Cristo? You know the one that came out in 2002. Oh… was that a good movie. I think it’s about time for a re-watch.
Okay… now forget all about it. Forget about the original classic. Forget anything you might know of the story. This is not the retelling that you’re looking for. Those emotions, the revenge he sought, cannot be found in Scavenge the Stars.
I’m just being honest. Besides the plot point of suddenly coming into money and using said money to seek revenge (the revenge didn’t entirely make sense when it came to Amaya’s father), I couldn’t find any other correlations. The whole point of the original story is revenge for true love. All we get in Scavenge the Stars is revenge for a father that might not be the great hero Amaya believes him to be. Even a mother that might have betrayed her own daughter. Where’s the poignant emotional context from the original story?
The answer comes down to how close does a retelling need to be to be considered a retelling and not some rip off because you can’t think of your own unique version? If your answer is not much, the author has creative liberty, then you don’t need to worry about Scavenge the Stars. But if you feel the exact opposite, then I will repeat myself. This is not the book you’re looking for.
As you can see, my rating is clearly down the middle, which is how I felt about the whole story. I didn’t hate it but I also didn’t love it. There was never a moment that I was exactly bored, and, except for the beginning, there wasn’t a moment I loved either. If you’re a person that reads the first chapter before deciding on a book, well… you probably fell into the trap. The beginning of Scavenge the Stars is such a tease. When Amaya is on the boat the writing is compelling and the emotions thick. Tiny details, like having the kids named waterbugs, push to the surface. It’s immersive. Then Amaya gets off the boat, gets her money, and becomes someone that I could care less about.
Now do you want me to rant about the timeline of Amaya’s training? I can’t hear your answer so I’m just going to say a few things… If you’re a writer, please give this a solid thought. Sometimes, think about your timeline and how believable it can be. Does three months of fighting, learning to manipulate, act like a Countess, and suddenly have the skills to woo an entire city sound right? Especially when you’ve had no formal education because you’ve been on a debtor ship since you were ten. I didn’t think so. Would it have been so bad to have her on the ship since she was seven so that she could have started training when she was fourteen and then had three years? It might just help the story feel more believable.
Before I wrap this up, I have to say something else about the other POV… you didn’t know that there was another point of view in the book? Maybe that’s because he’s not mentioned in the description. I’m not a big fan of books that don’t make it clear there’s more than one point of view in a story. When the second one roles around, I’m sent into shock. It happened in The Vanishing Deep and it happened again here. Caro plays a huge part of the books. He’s essentially the catalyst to major plot points, not to mention half of the narrative. But was his relationship with Amaya believable? That’s out with the jury. I wanted to find something to love about him, but like Amaya, I could care less about what happened to him.Let his whole house burn to the ground.
In the end, the book has some issues. It’s not the creation of a fourth book author. It lacks the depth I would expect from a retelling of such a compelling original. But again, I neither loved it nor hated it or found issues that made it sink into the do not like level. I won’t be reading the sequel though.
Happy Reading
Love Kait
Reading Challenge: 128/175