nut free nerd

“Heroism is often the seemingly spontaneous result of a lifetime of preparation.”

Tress of the Emerald Sea follows Tress, a girl who lives on an island that, usually, no one is allowed to leave. She enjoys the simple things, such as collecting cups, and is generally content with her life on the island. Yet when her best friend, Charlie, is taken from the island by his father and put in great danger, Tress finds herself thrust into a pirate adventure on the spore-filled seas in a quest to save him.

I’ve been meaning to read something by Brandon Sanderson for ages. I’m so glad I started with this one: not only is it a standalone, but it also has such an interesting backstory as to how and why he created it. If, like me, you’re a bit intimidated by Sanderson’s longer series, I think Tress is a great place to start with his work.

I enjoyed so many things about this novel. Sanderson’s world-building is incredible. It’s detailed in a way that feels organic and engaging right from the start. The narration is funny and witty and definitely reminiscent in tone to The Princess Bride by William Goldman. The narrative structure is so clever — I loved finding out who the seemingly omnipresent narrator actually was (no spoilers here!). This novel is told like a classic fairy tale, but turns a lot of the traditional conventions of that genre upside down. Its intentionality in this way was really refreshing.

Tress is a fun, engaging, funny, pirate-filled read. I also highly recommend listening to the audiobook. I can’t wait to read more by Sanderson.

Have you read anything by Brandon Sanderson? Any of his books that you recommend in particular? I’d love to know.

Take care xx