I have to give Carson credit--these prequels definitely serve to help round out the world and give us a different look at Elisa (or the role she fills). In "Shadow Cats", told from Alodia's POV, we saw Elisa as a younger girl, frightened, but understanding so much more than Alodia gave her credit for. Now in "The Shattered Mountain", though Elisa has a very small role near the end, Carson shows us how from the very first moment Mara saw that Elisa was special and would understand her.

This also serves as a way to establish the reason for a lot of Mara's early antagonism as well as the bond she shared with many of the children shown throughout the first two books. In a matter of less than a hundred pages we see Mara go from a dreamer who saw freedom only in how far she could run to a leader, keeping a dozen or so children grounded and brave against impossible odds.

I wouldn't say that Mara is hard or grim; she has moments of such, but who wouldn't under such odds? She is trying to keep frightened, starving, injured and grieving children alive while avoiding the Invierno who are everywhere. She makes a lot of decisions that are hard and doesn't have a lot of time for coddling. Survival is on the line and discomfort now could save their lives.

I already liked Mara from the books, so this was just icing. This served to illustrate why she is such a good fit with Elisa. I do think this was a story you could only fully appreciate if you had read the books first. The details we learned throughout those books are fully explored here and thus all the more appreciated. ( )

I cannot even praise Carson enough. I deeply love all the writing she does, and I found myself once more on the precise of my heart leaping out of my chest and my eyes tearing up at that specific moment all over again. Even with this newer person's background. I definitely will follow wherever this story, and author go in the future. ( )

I have only read the first prequel; The Shadow Cats which introduced Alodia. So I have no idea who Mara is in relation to the rest of the series.

This was bloody intense. There was action, love, death and so many feelings. I loved Mara. She's not my usual type of heroine with her reaction to her abuse. Generally my normal type of heroine would fight back. But Mara has so much control. She's beaten down but she doesn't break. My absolute favourite part was this scene; Then they brace Mara—one under each arm—and lift her from the ground. Tiny Marlín plants herself in their path. She reaches up and pats Mara’s hip. Pat, pat. Patpatpat. Her face is a mask of solemnity. She says, “I need you to be a brave girl for me, Mara.” Mara doesn’t know how to respond. Marlín steps aside, and Reynaldo and Adán hold Mara up. She hangs limp between them. They’re about to step forward, but Mara says, “Wait.” They wait. Mara gathers her feet beneath her. She leans over and gives Reynaldo a kiss on the cheek, then does the same to Adán. “Thank you,” she says, straightening. “But I can walk on my own.”

Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns Complete Collection . Greenwillow Books. Kindle Edition.

It was heartbreaking and funny and inspiring and so many feels. You've I was expecting this brief glimpse into a side character and I got a Shakespearean tragedy. I hated her father. He was so well written though. He was portrayed in so many shades of grey. I loved all the characters in this. I hope I get to see them again. 4.5 stars. ( )

Dieses Buch ist eine Ergänzung zur Reihe "The Girl of Fire and Thorns" und die Geschichte wird auf 90 Seiten (lt. Greenwillow Books) mit etwas mehr Tiefgang erzählt als bei der Vorgeschichte zur Reihe, "The Shadow Cats". Im Mittelpunkt steht Mara, die kurz nach Elisas Ankunft im Rebellencamp als Flüchtende ebenfalls das Camp erreicht. Die Geschichte endet mit der aus dem ersten Band bekannten Szene, in der Mara auf Elisa trifft.

Durch diesen Text lernt man Mara etwas besser kennen, die als Nebenfigur in den ersten beiden Bänden der Reihe nur schlaglichtartig beleuchtet wird.

Diese Kurzgeschichte zeigt auch die Gefahren, die Mara mit den Kindern des Dorfes bei der Flucht auf sich nimmt, ist aber vermutlich nur im Rahmen der Reihe interessant, weniger als eigenständiges Werk. ( )

My Review: 7 - Good Read

While reading my latest Star Wars pick, I realized I wouldn't finish it in time for my Wednesday flash review post. So in order to ensure I would have at least TWO reviews for you all today, I decided to put the SW novel aside and pull up Carson's latest novella on my Kindle. The Shattered Mountain takes place in the Girl of Fire and Thorns world, and in many ways, could be considered a prequel to the events in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. However, I don't feel this story stands on its own two feet: you really need to have read at least the first book in the trilogy, better still, the second, The Crown of Embers, to really appreciate the events of the story, which focus on Mara's history. The novella is utterly fast-paced: I finished it in a single sitting, and I constantly admire how Caron puts her heroines in horribly difficult situations and makes them do HARD THINGS. She makes her heroines make HARD DECISIONS, and poor Mara, she's no different. And even though this story was fast-paced, I'll be damned if Carson didn't make me all teary-eyed near the end, something I don't think would've happened if I hadn't read the first two books in the trilogy to date. So in short, if you're caught up on the trilogy and need something to tide you over until the third book, The Bitter Kingdom, comes out this fall, this is great. If you're new to the series, hold off until you're caught up, because the payoff is much more satisfying if you do. ( )