Start Off The New Year With Sarah J. Maas
As a writer, and a fictional writer at that, reading takes up a great deal of my time. I love perusing the shelves at the local bookstore, searching for new books to add to my library. In celebration of a fresh start as we welcome 2017, I set a fairly lofty goal for myself: to read at least one book per week, aside from the arsenal I already read in professional pursuits. I set this resolution in order to force myself to rethink how I utilize my downtime. Whether it’s a more thoughtful memoir by someone I admire, an educational anthology that’ll help inform my work, or an epic fantasy for pure leisure, I want to make sure that I’m actively enriching my mind with a good book.
For those of you who share my love of reading, and have set similar goals for yourselves, I’ve come with an author recommendation that is bound to keep your reading time well occupied.
Last summer I was introduced to the world of Sarah J. Maas. I was immediately enamored with her work, and read everything that she had published (at the time) in the span of one month. To date, Maas has written two stellar young adult series that are ongoing, currently totaling in eight novels, that are bound to interest readers young and old — she’s easily become one of my favorite modern authors. I even included her debut novel, Throne of Glass, as a part of our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide out of admiration.
A manifesto of sorts, I’m going to do my darndest to tell you why these books are absolutely fabulous, and worthy of a good read (all spoiler free!):
Both series take place within the same meta-universe, and are high fantasy “epics” about some pretty stellar girls doing some pretty stellar things. Throne of Glass, which currently sports six novels (one of which is a little collection of short stories that take place before the events of the first novel), and A Court of Thorns and Roses, which currently has two. Both series are scheduled to wrap up this year, with spin-off novels of the latter, ACOTAR, in the future works. That’s over 3,500 pages of material to blast through.
Characters
Maas writes strong female characters that have entirely believable personalities. Since her leading ladies are older than the YA norm, they are far more relatable than the average fourteen to sixteen year old bombshell that has to save the world from impending doom. Celaena, the protagonist of Maas’ Throne of Glass series, does start off as a newly sixteen to seventeen year old, but ages as the series progresses. Feyre, the star of A Court of Thorns and Roses, is nineteen when her story starts and is already far more mature. Both Celaena and Feyre are distinct, female characters, and push the boundaries of what I’ve come to expect from YA. Both are roguish and entirely independent of their male counterparts; they’ve already lived hard lives before each of their stories begin in the books, and are therefore well equipped with a fair amount of life experience.
Many of the primary characters in each series are male, but one of the greatest aspects pertaining to character development is Maas’ inclusion of girls being friends with other girls. Seems pretty simple, I know, but both Celaena and Feyre have growing, strong friendships with their female counterparts that are totally unrelated to the men in their lives. They nurture some serious girl-power bonds that we should all strive for. My best friend, who is also a die-hard fan of each series (thanks to yours truly), and I have had some lengthy discussions about how great Maas’ gal pals are. Some of the strongest bonds formed throughout each series are between friends, comrades, and women respecting other women.
Worldbuilding
Maas spends a lot of time worldbuilding, and therefore introduces different cultures that exist throughout her meta-universe. Feyre and Celaena interact with these regions as outsiders, and we watch as they learn about varying cultures that differ greatly from their own. The world in which the characters inhabit feels immense and diverse — from the food that they eat and clothes that they wear, to each culture’s mythology and religion, the reader is hyper aware that Maas is very familiar with the universe she has birthed, and we’re constantly learning something new about the each respective series through the culture and subtitles of the other (although no concrete connection between the two stories has been made, yet).
Maas doesn’t include a single detail that doesn’t have some bigger meaning, either. Every character we meet is somehow essential, regardless of whether they’re present for one page, or active for four straight books. From The Assassin’s Blade, a collection of short stories that serves as a prequel to Throne of Glass, to the latest novel in the series, Empire of Storms, Maas has spun an intricate web of locations and characters that all mingle together — so pay attention to every last drop!
Maas’ work with lore is brilliant, too, and refreshingly intelligent. My own focus in school was in Creative Writing, Fable, and Literature, so I have a strong appreciation for both her interpretations of classical work and original concepts. Throne of Glass was initially (loosely) inspired by the story of Cinderella, although it eventually branched out and took it’s own path, and ACOTAR is more obviously inspired by Beauty and the Beast. She draws inspiration from Scottish Ballads and other mythology, and the overall presentation is very well executed.
Relationships and Sexuality
One of my favorite aspects of these series, by far, is how Maas handles relationships and sexuality. Feyre addresses the question of sex and adolescence at the beginning of ACOTAR. She does not glorify sex, but as an already nineteen year old girl, Feyre treats the act as no more than human experience. Especially in ACOTAR, sexuality and sex play a very important role to the character development and overall story, but it is not forced for the sake of drama or added tension.* Sex becomes more prevalent in the later installments of Throne of Glass, however, as Celaena is still young when her series begins.
The dominance of “love triangles” in YA turns a lot of people off, as they often depict unhealthy ideals of affirmation and love. While Maas does address the concept of a love triangle to a slight degree, she takes her main character’s relationships to a whole new level of depth. She highlights that your first love isn’t necessarily, or often, your final or true love. Both Feyre and Celaena interact with a wide cast of characters, and mature throughout their separate journeys, so the type of partner that they seek and need drastically changes (as they do). Just as they build strong, hearty relationships, they also have to learn from inevitable mistakes and poor relationships. These mistakes are used to not only teach the character, but also the reader, very pertinent lessons that can be drawn from real life.
*It is worthy to note that there are some pretty explicit sex scenes in both of ACOTAR’s installments, and later in the Throne of Glass series. As far as YA goes, these can be a little jarring to someone not expecting it. I, however, totally love the abrupt but honest approach. By including such scenes, Maas is showing some real respect and recognition for her audience by treating them like young (or old) adults, especially since the characters are older and, you know, it happens.
Relevant Issues
Aside from a cast of great characters and brilliant world that Maas has woven, each series is filled with topics and issues that are very real — some of which are seldom approached in your typical YA novel. All of these issues are handled very, very well (and without romanticizing them via ill-interpretations). Maas addresses issues such as domestic abuse, sexism and gender equality, stalking, addiction, male and female rape, eating disorders, and mental health problems. Various characters, and not just our leading ladies, struggle with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and most importantly, recovery.
Because both Feyre and Celaena face very harrowing events during each story, both women face long periods of recovery whilst they rediscover who they are and who they want to be.
After graduating college, I was a little adamant about reading or pursing young adult fiction. Academia can be fairly judgemental of literature that isn’t ridden with hidden symbolism or subjectively “intelligent” language and diction, often deeming anything it considers to be inferior irrelevant. However, reading old school YA like Harry Potter or the Redwall series is why most of us decided to pursue writing — or found our passions in reading. Maas, who fell into my life at a time when I had seriously stepped back to evaluate myself as writer, helped rekindle my love of reading a good story and writing without boundaries. The thoughtful simplicity of her writing is read to be beautiful, and her characters are admirable. If you’re looking for a good book to read, I’d definitely recommend giving her a shot.
Cheers to a new year, and a darn good book!
[…] wrote a more in-depth post about Maas for GeekGirlCon at the beginning of the year, but man, I can’t get enough of this […]