Book Reviews

Far World: Land Keep- J. Scott Savage

Book review time! I finished the second book in the Farworld series, Land Keep. As usual, this will be a list of answered discussion questions about the book and anyone is welcome to answer them and have your own discussions in the comments.

The mellankollia tree makes Marcus focus on his own problems so much that he doesn't realize Kyja is in danger. How does only thinking about your own problems keep you from seeing what is happening with your friends?

This. Sometimes we tend to get so caught up in our own misery and our own terrible lives that we don't see the problems anyone else is having and we definitely don't see the problems that we ourselves are causing for others. Kyja is an amazing example of how we should react to trials and hardships. We keep learning more about her past. She was given a home with a foster family but had to sleep in the barn because she doesn't have magic. She was the best student at school in theory, learning anything that wasn't hands on with ease, but she was kicked out for not having magic. Despite all of the terrible things she's had to endure, she never gave in to the mindset that her pain was the greatest in the world. Instead, she worked on her sword skills and helped Bella in the kitchen. She was able to recognize the pain Char was going through when Rhaidnan didn't come back and she helped Char and the children get back on track. She was able to learn how to be kind and compassionate, which we all know is her true magic.

Marcus buys a charm that turns him into a dog. He is surprised by how differently he sees the world as a dog. If you could temporarily be turned into an animal, what kind of animal would it be? How do you think the transformation might affect the way you look at the world?

This is such a fun question! But such a hard one as well. A penguin might be interesting. After doing some research, I've learned that penguins can hear higher pitches than humans and their eyes are adapted to see both above and below water clearly. They have binocular vision like most birds but can only see blues, greens, and purples. That would be interesting! Penguins don't have a well-developed sense of taste and I'm not sure if their sense of smell is better or the same as humans.

The Keepers believe that magic should be taken from common people and given to the rich and powerful. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

No. As Graehl (Screech) said at the end, "More good gets done by normal men and women engaging in everyday acts of kindness than by all the most powerful people combined." (pg. 344). What are the powerful people going to do with extra magic? What difference is it going to make? They can use the magic they already have to do the things they get done while the normal people use their magic to do the important stuff: helping each other and uniting to create better communities and making sure no one is in need without help.

The fairy's song is about her mother giving up her life rather than joining the Dark Circle. If you had a song, what would it be about?

Mine would probably be something about how we go through trials and hardships but if we keep pressing forward and moving on and fighting, we'll get through it and we will survive and we will be ok in the end and we will have happiness. Or it could just be a bunch of nerdy stuff about books/tv shows I like. Who knows? Not me!

This was such an interesting book with everything that happened and the character growth between Marcus and Kyja learning more about each other, Cascade learning to care, Screech letting go of his past as a Keeper and actively working against them. I'm excited to get to the next one!