Explore Winds Of The Forest (Forestborn #1) Composed By Dele Daniel Presented In Paper Edition

bit dull

This felt more like a modern day race story and a history story, It was a little too much history for my taste, Dystopian is at its best when it seems plausible, When it hovers just close enough to reality to shoot your heart into your throat and leave it there, beating madly for the storys entire duration.
Winds of the Forest did just that and more,

The story is told through the eyes of a teenage girl named Genesis, Unlike many heroines in this genre, shes got a good head on her shoulders, Her thought process is rational, her common sense firmly intact, and her feelings justified, I couldnt help but like her, In addition to her intelligent crafting, her narrative

voice is strong, . Through her eyes, I experienced a wide range of emotion: the weight of responsibility, the pride of accomplishment, worry, fear for one's life, oppression, and love in many incarnations.


Theres a perfect balance between peace and peril, The narrative held my attention the entire way through, without leaning on jampacked action scenes that can make the story feel frantic, Never did the plot feel stale, Instead, it unfolded in layers, Each time a twist or a piece of history was revealed, the story grew in depth, I turned pages quickly, hungry to discover what lay ahead, But like any good mystery, any answer I gained lead to more questions,

Because I was so invested in the characters, the ending gutted me, The author took a risk, but the move seemed necessary and enhanced the story, The last pages held a glimmer of promise, Theres an intriguing prophecy to be sorted out, a missing loved one to be found, and a potential war to be waged, Thank goodness that the author appears to have a sequel planned theres still a great deal of story left to be told,

The only fault I found with the book was in the writing itself, It was clunky in spots, repeating ideas that had been previously discussed or explicitly telling what had already been well alluded to, Id still consider the book to be well written, The author possess a simple, clear style that Im fond of, The refinements I mentioned will no doubt come naturally with time and practice,

This is a solid,.
I started reading this book with an open mind and no real idea what the book was about, I was drawn into the story immediately, I couldn't put the book down, I wanted to know more about this world and the different tribes, I thought the people were interesting and the school was downright odd, I loved that the girls Madison, Alyssa and Genesis got along so well, I kinda wish Madison and Alyssa were a bit more involved in the story, I was very disappointed in Zudera, I thought she was a better friend than she was, Sentana surprised me in a good way but she also didn't play as much of a part as I would have liked, I would have loved to get to know those characters a bit more, I liked Jason a lot and was really rooting for him, When the book ended, I really wasn't ready for it to end, I want to know more, I will definitely be looking for the next book, Winds of the Forest is an excellent book, I loved how detailed the world was and I especially liked how Genesis wasn't your typical rebel leader protagonist, In fact, she is against the rebellion for much of the book,

The characters were very real and vivid, Genesis is our downtoearth, responsible main character, I did have a couple problems with her however, For example, every other page she is either breaking down sobbing or fainting, Which is very annoying by itself, but it was shown at the beginning that she is supposed to be a strong hunter/Arnazuri warrior.
She also complains about the other girls admiring Jason Fisher's looks, but as soon as she falls in love with him, which only takes about two pages, she can't stop talking about his perfect hair and smirky smile.
But that's not to say I didn't enjoy their romance to some extant, The theater scene was very cute and fluffy,

Jason Fisher I didn't like or dislike entirely, He was a good character, even if his motives were a bit unclear, I enjoyed his budding relationship with Genesis and how he didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to,

Alyssa and Mads were just "meh, " We don't get to know anything about them so I can't really form an opinion,

Sentana and Zudera were okay characters, Again, we don't get to know anything about them, I did, however, predict Sentana's true loyalty to the Hawks and Zudera's eventual betrayal,

My favorite character has to be Prince, I enjoyed every scene he was in and I loved his development,

I loved that the author did not skip over the trauma that Genesis when through in the prison and did not forget about it as soon as that plot point was over.
It was refreshing to read about a character actually dealing with the fallout of going through something traumatic, I will admit I was shocked by Jason's death and it tore me up a bit, I was honestly expecting a drawnout, convoluted love triangle with him, Remington, and Genesis, I was even preparing myself for that inevitability, And when Jason died, I was equal parts upset and glad that a love triangle was not going to happen, However, I hope Remington and Genesis do not eventually get together, I would love to see them rebuild their platonic relationship and become best friends again,

I have no complaints with the pacing or flow, I enjoyed the author's writing style,

There are a few typos, but they aren't major, Except for one thing. The author calls reins, that you use to ride a horse with, both reigns and reins, Reign, used as a verb, is the rule of a king or a queen, Used as a noun, it's the period a sovereign rules, Rein, used as a noun, is a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse's bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving.
As a verb, it means check or guide a horse by pulling on its reins, I've ridden horses all my life and maybe this is just me, but seeing reins spelled reigns really, really bugged me, I might have let it slip if he consistently called them reigns maybe that's what they're called in Nayja, I don't know but he didn't.


I was undecided whether I wanted to give this book a four star or five star review as I was reading it.
I immediately fell in love with Naja in the first few pages, But a couple things in the middle made me hesitate, However, the ending solidified its five star status, I can't wait to read the sequel when it comes out, Genesis Romunda is from the Arnazuri tribe in the postapocalyptic WestAfrican kingdom of Navia, She is an elite hunter like others in her community, but her tribe is considered the lowest of the four tribes in Navia, Historically, Arnazuri have always been subservient to the other tribes, providing meat for the others and only getting scraps in return, Some in Genesis's tribe believe that this is an inequality that should not exist and start a rebellion, Genesis believes that a rebellion will only lead to trouble and death, To Genesis, young at, if the Arnazuri have always been a lower caste of society, then that is the way of things, But the rebellion brings about many changes, not just a negative response from the tribes in power but also a progressive response, Genesis is chosen as one of the first females and the only Arnazuri in history to go to an elite school for gifted children.
Genesis has mixed feelings about being chosen to go to this elite school and leave her tribe in turmoil behind, but in her new home and new school she will discover that not everything she believed is true.


Like many postapocalyptic novels, the remaining humanity is forced to live in a small portion of what's habitable of earth, One of the first reasons I took to this novel was due to its setting, It's not North America, nor is it a common setting for most books I read, This book was set in a modern day West Africa, Already off to a good start, the book showed me a more diverse postapocalyptic culture than most dystopian fiction,

I was conflicted about Genesis, At times I liked her, and at other times I didn't, In the beginning of the novel she is very attached to her sense of the world, her opinions, and her beliefs which I absolutely love.
She is a protagonist who can influence her immediate environment, even in a tribe that is considered less valuable and less smart than the other tribes.
There doesn't seem to be any gender inequality in her tribe, She can hunt like her male friend Remington and she can fight him on equal footing, When Genesis's world is put into chaos and she is told that she is going to Promenade, the elite school outside of her own community, I was elated.
Now we get to see her among the peers even she considers better than herself, Perhaps we will be shown that her beliefs are wrong, that the world's beliefs are wrong, and everything will change, But this is not so, Genesis, as an Arnazuri, lives in a third world setting compared to the other tribes and has no realistic hope of being their equals in knowledge and experience.
She also doesn't show a great capacity to learn is never shown excelling in classes and is even duped by those around her, She is like a passenger in her own story, Not only that, but there is also an element of gender inequality and discrimination outside of Arnazuri that I didn't think was necessary and made me frustrated.


This Winds of the Forest's plot was inconsistent and some of the plot points felt incongruous with the rest of the writing, For example, Genesis gets caught out after curfew and this creates a conflict that pulls the plot along, This part never felt genuine and also showed Genesis to be air headed and sloppy, Because the book felt like it lacked an outline and the writing style itself was a bit clunky, it took me weeks to finish.
I did want to finish and find out what happened as the author had created enough intrigue with his clever use of Jason's inner knowledge I won't say of what because it would be a spoiler.
The mind is a powerful weapon but a heart is far too easy to break,

One of my favourite lines from this witty, intelligently written book,

A young adult series dotted with adventure, betrayal, love and friendship, this first book in Forestborn series takes you for a ride.
What I loved about this book was its easy language, yet it had the power to hold you captive,

The story was detailed and well explained from the angle of all the characters, Thats another plus point of this book and the flow in between all story parts was as smooth as butter,

I loved how the author depicted the humane emotions and how he sharpwittedly touched the argument of injustice towards women, The protagonist seventeenyearold Genesis Romunda can be very well related to any young adult of same generation, Its a bit surprising considering that the author Dele is himself a member of opposite sex, I would love the answer to this question if I ever stumble upon him,

Though more thanpages, I couldnt believe the book ended so soon, I am much excited for the next book in this series,

'Wind beneath your wings! as people of Nayja wish well DNF

I got close to the end,but I was just losing the will to live.
The "heroine" is such a whiner, it's painful, And o. m. g Sooooo many tropes! The only thing that was remotely interesting was that people live in West Africa at least, I think that's what it was hinting at but it wasn't expanded enough to make it a plot point.
Sorry. Not for me. Wind of the Forest is a well executed book in a postapocalyptic world, Most of the Earth is now toxic to humans, The exception is Nayja, which is in modern day West Africa, The book is the first in a series and easily grabs your attention through amazing world building and genuine characters, Genesis, the main protagonist, is perfectly written, I mean that literally. She is one of the best written characters Ive come along in many years and many books, Everything else about the book could have been bad its not and I still would liked it based on the strength of this seventeenyearold girl.
If youre looking for a strong female and/or black character, Genesis is that character. The rest of my review will contain spoilers,

The Good.
Many authors set up great worlds, but then ignore the rules of that world as they see fit, For example, you travel in time to an era when women/minorities/poor are treated less than animals, but said time traveler is well respected as a doctor/sheriff/warrior/etc.
Id love to ignore the prejudices of the past/present, but that would break the rules, Genesis is not a superhero, She has no ability that sets her apart from humans, She is a determined woman who is good with a bow and arrow, So, when she wrestles her friend Remington, she loses because hes stronger, When she is threatened with rape, she fights back believably, but also sobs after the fact, When her village and people are threatened she chooses to appease the privileged Kingfishers instead of fighting a war that her side will likely lose.
She behaves like a seventeenyearold girl, an amazing one, but one that you could meet in the real world,

Because of racism, Genesis is not allowed to be in the capital afterPM, She races to try and beat the closing gates, It is suspenseful. A great scene.

Genesis develops feelings for a royal classmate named Jason, Often YA has instant love with the female leads, Her love may be quick, but again, its realistic, She would have died without him, he shows her truths about her culture, he treats her like an equal, and hes attractive, She should care deeply for this boy,

One of Genesis roommates seems to want to help, then it looks like she betrays, then she looks clean again, only to find out that she was a traitor.
It was a cliché to have her be the traitor, but the fake out was nice, It made me second guess what looked apparent,
Two of Genesis classmates feel terrible that she was almost executed for talking too long with them, The scene is great because it shows them more upset about how bad they felt than what almost happened to Genesis, She thinks exactly as I did, Its a stab at the way some privileged rich people behave around poor people,

The second half of the book slowed down to establish a love triangle, I groaned as Remington and Jason figuratively faced off for Genesis affection, An event at the end of the book shocked me, At this point I thought the originality of the first half was being overpowered by common tropes and clichés, The shock toward the end changed the dynamics of the love triangle,

The Bad.
Most of the second half of the book slows down considerably to establish a love triangle, Thankfully it doesnt look like it will take up too much for future installments, but I was thinking about a fivestar rating in the beginning.
Toward the end, I had accepted it was probably a threestar rating, This was mainly because I hate the fact that female protagonists cant seem to just be awesome, They always have to have a love or two or three to apparently make them “well rounded, ”

Remington is onlyorhimself, I dont get why hes in charge of the Hawks, He is likely a strong warrior, Ill give that a lot of seniority was killed early in the book, but I just dont believe so many people would look to a teenager to lead their rebellion.


The action I thought I was in for never materialized, Theres a little fighting and death, but nothing that even comes close to a full battle, I suspect more of this will take place in future installments, but I wanted some now, I envisioned Genesis having to defend her mother and brother, She takes up her bow and kills her first human, Then a second. This would set her up for more reality in future books about how easy it is to take a life in the moment, but how difficult it is to live with yourself in the days after.


The Technical.
This book shows racial and gender discrimination,

Sexual assault takes places, .