Gifts

Ursula Le Guin is an author who's been around the block a few times. Her famous and continuously-popular A Wizard from Earthsea was first published in 1968, and she has been writing for readers of all ages ever since. Le Guin is especially well-known for her science fiction and fantasy novels, and for the fact that many of her characters are people of color - a major break from the conventions of these very Caucasian genres.

In Gifts, every family line in the Uplands carries with it a special gift. Sometimes these gifts are wondrous, such as the ability to call animals to you or the ability to instantly diagnose disease. But many of these gifts are frightening, such as the ability to twist other people's limbs in unnatural directions. These gifts are seen as invaluable by the feuding families of the Uplands, who often use their gifts as a way of gaining power over other weaker families. Orrec comes from a family with one of these frightening gifts: The ability to "unmake" anything simply with a glance and a breath. When Orrec beings to finally manifest his gift at the age of twelve his gift seems to be wild and uncontrollable, so he chooses a life under a blindfold rather than run the risk of accidentally destroying those he loves. But over time, Orrec beings to realize that even if his gift is masked, he can still be a weapon in the feuding families' war for power simply by being positioned as a threat to other families.

This book is maybe a little slow to start as we gain a lot of background information about this fantasy world in the opening chapters. However, readers who don't mind easing into the story will find that Orrec's situation is a fascinating one. His voluntary blindness is at once noble and sorrowful, and the discovery that he can still be used as a tool for power unfolds smoothly and steadily as he gradually gains thins knowledge over time. This book is a brilliant fantasy because it really makes you think about how Orrec's situation translates into our own lives. What can you do with the gifts that you have been given? How can these gifts be abused? And if your gifts are frightening, what will you do to prevent its misuse?

Overall Grade: A-/B+

Gifts is the first book in Ursula Le Guin's "Annals of the Western Shore." The following books in the series are Voices and Powers, both of which are also definitely worth picking up!