Review - Defy by Sarah B. Larson

by Sarah B. Larson
publisher: Scholastic
date of publication: January 7, 2014
format: ARC
pages: 336
source: publisher
series: Defy (#1)
buy it: Defy

From Goodreads:

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

Buckle up, because this review may get bumpy.  There were things that I liked about Defy, don't get me wrong.  However, there were also problems with Defy that really left me taken aback.  On the side of like, you have a fantasy element, magic, loyalty, and romance.  On the side of dislike there is insecurity, loss of a sense of self, and, worst of all, rape as a plot device.  Now, if you saw my review of Kinslayer over at Book Brats, you already know my feelings on this topic.  If you haven't, I'll just tell you that it makes me angry.  Super freaking angry.  That being said, why don't we take a closer look at what worked and what didn't in Defy?

As a character, Alexa had a lot of potential... at first.  She is presented as a strong character based upon the hardships she has lived through and the actions she has taken to survive.  Rather than being taken captive by the king for being a girl (more on that later), she chose to shear off her hair and take on the persona of her brother's twin brother instead of his twin sister.  Having been taught to fight by their father, this is an easy persona for her to enact, as it makes the soldiers far less suspicious as to her having another identity.  This is all a great start.  However, it would seem that even Alexa isn't immune to the dreaded love triangle.  Though she thinks to hold her feelings when it comes to the opposite sex in check, she does, in fact, let it affect her.  When her feelings are involved, she slips.  At times, she slips hard, all the time reminding herself that she is supposed to be coming across as a man.  First and foremost, Alexa is a fighter.  When it comes to romantic feelings, however, that seems to almost fall away at times.  It's incredibly frustrating to have this strong female character reduced to a moony-eyed one who seems to forget that she's strong at the drop of a hat.  I don't even know what to do with that.  It left her less sympathetic to me until the very end when she seemed to really start finding herself.  I expect a character with weaknesses.  What I don't expect is a character who falls apart when faced with the fact that she is, in fact, female.  Why can't she be a fighter and a woman at the same time without one affecting the other?

The setting is a complete mixed bag.  On the one hand, there are mysterious magics and lush jungles, a network of hidden caves and rich palaces.  Then, there are the breeding houses where state-sanctioned rape occurs on a daily basis.  What is the purpose, you ask?  That depends on who you ask.  The king in this story will say that it's to bolster his army with new soldiers... every 18 years.  It doesn't really stand up to scrutiny, does it?  Though the kind claims it's to fuel his war machine, a closer look reveals his true purpose: subjugation.  This becomes glaringly obvious due to later events in the story that are too much a spoiler to share here.  I don't know about you, but sex slavery and rape as a plot device is appalling.  There just has to be a better way of showing the king's cruelty than this.  As I said to friends while reading this part, "I just can't even."  As a woman, I found it incredibly offensive.  As a human being in general, I found it equally so.

While I had great hopes for Defy and did manage to find a few things I liked about it, the cons added up until I was just biding my time until the end came to be.  The writing was engaging and illustrative, but the themes used were more than I could bear.  Will I continue with the series?  If I'm honest, I would say it's highly doubtful.  While some of those elements may disappear within the second book, it has left such a sour taste in my mouth that I find myself unwilling to do so.  Life is too short and there are many other books out there I would rather give my time to.