review; fairest

I was a little worried that this novella would paint her as a horribly sympathetic character, misunderstood and mistreated until she became the Levana of the series. But I should not have been. Marissa Meyer has not let me down yet, and I have high hopes that she will not at all with this series.

While Levana is not cruel from the get go, there is this underlying and innate selfishness and entitlement that carries over into adult Levana. Her affection for Evret turns into borderline obsession, and she deludes herself over and over into seeing things that are not there. There are times when I felt sorry for Levana – particularly when it came to her sister – but largely, while the novella makes you understand her, it does not paint her as a victim of circumstances. Rather, she is a victim of her own actions – they all have consequences, and those consequences affect everyone around her.

Levana comes across as a girl who wants to be loved but doesn’t understand it. She covets it, desires it – but does not know how to really love anyone. She thinks she does, but she only understands her own twisted version of care. Her own selfish wants and needs come before anyone else. And that is the real tragedy of her story. She thinks she is not selfish, judges others for their selfishness – but does not recognise it in herself because there are a few moments when she thinks about others.

I rather like the fact that Channery is not the “good sister”. Her one redeeming quality is perhaps her love for her daughter. And Winter and Selene’s childhood friendship (as well as Winter and Jacin’s childhood connection) is adorable.

Understanding the villain is important, and this novella helped me do just that. Levana has become that much more dangerous to me now that we know the lengths she is willing to go to secure her goals.