Spotlighted Book: The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Hargrave
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:40 pm
Our second recommendation for world-building, The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, is a rich and turbulent legend where the landscape of the world isn’t just there to set the scene but to drive the plot as well
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Here are some discussion prompts to help you frame your response. Feel free to totally ignore them – we’d like to hear what you think!Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella Riosse dreams of the faraway lands her father once mapped.
When her closest friend disappears into the island’s Forgotten Territories, she volunteers to guide the search. As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.
But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.
- This book demonstrates one approach you can take to world-building: take our world and put a subtle, magical slant on it. The other countries that the author mentions by name are almost recognisable. Do you find a world that’s almost familiar more compelling and relatable than one that’s deliberately very different?
- Do you like exploring a world alongside a character who’s as new to it as you are?
- Often times the worlds created by authors have something wrong or corrupt at the heart of them, like the governor’s control over Isabella and her people. Do you think it would be possible to create an interesting (and possibly more crucially relatable) world where this wasn’t the case?