The Continent

by Keira Drake Narrated by Fiona Hardingham

Overview

“Have we really come so far, when a tour of the Continent is so desirable a thing? We've traded our swords for treaties, our daggers for promises-but our thirst for violence has never been quelled. And that's the crux of it-it can't be quelled. It's human nature.”

For her sixteenth birthday, Vaela Sun receives the most coveted gift in all the Spire-a trip to the Continent. It seems an unlikely destination for a holiday: a cold, desolate land where two nations remain perpetually locked in combat. Most citizens lucky enough to tour the Continent do so to observe the spectacle and violence of battle, a thing long vanished in the peaceful realm of the Spire. For Vaela, the war holds little interest. As a talented apprentice cartographer and a descendant of the Continent herself, she sees the journey as a dream come true: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve upon the maps she's drawn of this vast, frozen land.

But Vaela's dream all too quickly turns to nightmare as the journey brings her face-to-face with the brutal reality of a war she's only read about. Observing from the safety of a heli-plane, Vaela is forever changed by the sight of the bloody battle being waged far beneath her. And when a tragic accident leaves her stranded on the Continent, Vaela finds herself much closer to danger than she'd ever imagined-and with an entirely new perspective as to what war truly means. Starving, alone and lost in the middle of a war zone, Vaela must try to find a way home-but first, she must survive.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Fiona Hardingham captures the raw beauty of a new land and the intensity of its people in this thrilling fantasy. Hardingham channels the determination of Vaela Sun, a sheltered 16-year-old who encounters unspeakable tragedy while sightseeing high above the icy, war-ravaged Continent. Vaela is rescued by the fierce Aven’ei people, who welcome her into their ranks. Hardingham conveys the depth of Vaela’s love for the Aven’ei. As war with the neighboring Xoe clan looms ever closer, she brings Vaela’s formidable courage into crisp focus. In addition to Vaela, Hardingham expertly voices a remarkable range of other characters, including jowly old men, implacable bullies, and menacing warriors, adding depth and breadth to this vibrant landscape. S.A.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

01/22/2018
A privileged young woman struggles to survive after being stranded in unfamiliar, hostile territory. Aspiring mapmaker Vaela Sun has grown up in the nation of the Spire, in a culture that has abolished war. For her 16th birthday, her parents take her on an airship tour of the Continent, where the rival Xoe and Aven’ei peoples appear determined to wipe each other out. When the airship is destroyed, Vaela’s only hope is to make a new life among the Aven’ei until she can get home. As she assimilates into their society and falls for handsome Noro, she adopts a new goal: persuade the Spire to intervene and end the war. Drake’s debut novel comes with a controversial pedigree, having been substantially revised following early criticism of the depiction of the cultures of the Continent. That aspect is improved, but Drake still offers a predictable romance coupled with a “sheltered protagonist goes native” storyline; in one scene, Kaela gleefully attempts to introduce indoor plumbing to the Aven’ei, only to discover she has no idea how it works, either. The worldbuilding and premise have potential, but the story falls short in execution. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

03/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Sixteen-year-old apprentice cartographer Vaela Sun is going on a tour of the Continent for her birthday. The trip is a highly coveted one among her peers, and Vaela is excited to be going despite the ongoing war ravaging the country. The Aven'ei and Xoe have been fighting for centuries with no signs of peace. Vaela and her family live in the Spire. The Spire is an affluent nation that has abolished warfare and vowed to remain neutral no matter what. Unfortunately, Vaela will witness the Continent's fighting firsthand. When a tragic accident leaves her stranded in the desolate wasteland, Vaela finds herself at the mercy of the warring local tribes. This fast-paced story attempts to address the stark disparity between prosperous civilizations and war-torn nations as well as the moral implications of remaining neutral in a violent conflict but fails and instead includes racist undertones. While some may find the setting unique, the plot is simple and lacks nuance. The problematic "white savior" trope is employed throughout, making this difficult to recommend. VERDICT A strictly additional purchase.—Ariel Birdoff, New York Public Library

MAY 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Fiona Hardingham captures the raw beauty of a new land and the intensity of its people in this thrilling fantasy. Hardingham channels the determination of Vaela Sun, a sheltered 16-year-old who encounters unspeakable tragedy while sightseeing high above the icy, war-ravaged Continent. Vaela is rescued by the fierce Aven’ei people, who welcome her into their ranks. Hardingham conveys the depth of Vaela’s love for the Aven’ei. As war with the neighboring Xoe clan looms ever closer, she brings Vaela’s formidable courage into crisp focus. In addition to Vaela, Hardingham expertly voices a remarkable range of other characters, including jowly old men, implacable bullies, and menacing warriors, adding depth and breadth to this vibrant landscape. S.A.H. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-02-05
Grief-stricken and stranded far from home, a sheltered young woman must rebuild her life and reconsider all she believes to be true.Apprentice cartographer Vaela Sun thinks she's the luckiest teen in the Spire when her parents announce they have obtained coveted tickets for a family heli-plane tour over the Continent. Peopled by the warring Xoe and Aven'ei, this icy, remote land has long been cut off from the Four Nations who regard its inhabitants as little more than curiosities. When their heli-plane crashes in the wilderness, blonde, fair-skinned Vaela is the sole survivor. Rescued by Noro, a bronze-skinned, black-haired Aven'ei assassin with whom she soon falls in love, Vaela makes a new life for herself on the Continent, learning to survive without the aid of servants and even taking a job shoveling manure. Coming from a technologically advanced land where peace and prosperity are taken for granted and various ethnicities intermarry without prejudice, Vaela struggles to understand the values of her new homeland. Her gradual awakening hews closely to the well-worn trope of the young Westerner who achieves self-actualization through experiencing the seemingly simple pleasures of the developing world. While apparently attempting to critique poverty tourism and indifference toward the struggles of developing countries and indigenous peoples, the novel falls short in never probing the responsibility developed nations bear for contributing to these problems in the first place. The resolution similarly deprives the people of the Continent of agency. A sizzling romance cannot compensate for the blind spots. (Fantasy. 12-16)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172729225
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/27/2018
Series:	Continent Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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