Pieces of Stars

If we lived in a world where Robin McKinley (circa The Blue Sword) and Tamora Pierce could have babies, Kristin Cashore would be their love-child. That is the first reason this book got such a high rating from me. I felt like I was back in highschool, reading all night to finish my favorite fantasy story. I'll be honest. In today's YA world of instant gratification, I sometimes have a hard time adapting to short, quick love, and modern fantasy. That doesn't mean I haven't found quite a few new books to love, but I do have this part of my heart that will always be reserved for Epic Fantasy.Fire filled that need for me. From the moment I picked up this book, to the moment I put it down, every syllable, word and paragraph were gulped right down.First there was the main character, Fire. I don't know how Cashore managed to make a such a sweet character so filled with fierceness, and modern sensibility, but she did it. Fire is such an incongruous mix of beautiful and ugly -her past, her inability to use her gifts at the beginning of the story, and her intense love for the people in her life. I loved her completely.The world was imaginative, combining several paranormal themes that would seem tired in a modern setting, but somehow get a fresh edge in this story. The blessing of plain old fantasy is that you can create a world with its own rules and interesting concepts. I love the idea that there is a world out there where the normal is normal and the monsters are obvious and brutal.The love story was probably my favorite part. Finally, a romance with some build-up. One thing I have a hard time with in most YA books is how quickly (and unrealistically) the characters seem to fall in love and into bed with each other. I get that teenagers are like that, I was a teenager, for heaven's sakes, but it's so nice to read about a couple that takes longer than 6 mths to fall in love. It's also nice when the couple actually has shared elements in their past to give them emotional commonalities. Imagine that, characters that have something in common to build on.There are a few little things I had issue with (aren't there always? hahaha). This book could have used some trimming in places. Having read epic fantasy, I'm used to places where character development is as important as action, but there were places in the story where I thought it could use some tightening. Typically an editor's job, but then again, all the editors are gone these days, so it makes sense that this book has a little excess.I also didn't understand the parts with Leck. They seemed out of place to the story, but since this is supposed to be a trilogy, I'm guessing Leck was a short kind of foreshadowing to the next book? We'll see.But overall the story was wonderful! Couldn't put it down. One final note: There are a lot of comments about the sex in this book, particularly among various characters. I just want to point out that (1) all the sex except Fire's is between consenting adults. Adults who are WAY past the age of consent. *Edit, I forgot, there is one other instance of sex between a minor(15 year old woman soldier) and an older (20 year old) male)* (2) There are ZERO details given. This book had less sex and sexual detail than a lot of YA books I've read. (3) The context for Fire's early sexual exploration -which to my knowledge happened with a good friend that she trusted, loved and had known most of her life is honest, considering her abusive father, adolescent confusion, and utter loneliness, being the only person of her kind in the kingdom. I thought it was well handled and fit with the story. But that is just my opinion, which is what all these ratings are. :)