Friday Book Report: Seven Splinters by L.N. Jennings

L.N. Jennings first novel, Seven Splinters introduces us to Tuuli, a young woman that comes into her own through unusual and extraordinary circumstances.  This science-fiction novel is jam-packed with action and adventure that takes us through Tuuli’s remarkable journey of self-discovery.  It was published in 2012 by Lulu.com.

Tuuli Jakobsson is pretty much your average teenager.  She feels like an outcast and is unsure of who she really is and where she wants to be.  College doesn’t seem like the answer, and high school can’t get over soon enough for her.  Struggling with her own identity already, things seem to get worse when her eyes start to glow on her eighteenth birthday.  She knew she wasn’t normal, but this is beyond explanation!  While trying to hide her abnormalities from her annoying sister and the general public, she meets Alvar Gunnaron; an enchanting stranger that seems to understand her better than she does herself.   Alvar helps her to awaken her true self, and leads her through a path of self-discovery that’s as unbelievable as it is magical.  Bound by fate to the fascinating Alvar, Tuuli follows him into an ancient realm on the edge of destruction.  Tuuli and Alvar must find the seven stones of the realm to save their race before a covetous Lord finds them and takes Tuuli for himself.

I may be a bit biased because I actually know this author, but I really enjoyed this book.  I think it’s so cool that someone I sat next to in high school English (she obviously paid much more attention in class than I did!) is now a published author.

L.N. Jennings brings a lot of different story arcs into her book, and she develops them all fairly nicely.  Jennings does a nice job telling a story not just about Elven mythology, but also about a young woman finding out who she is and the way she deals with such an outlandish discovery.  Tuuli seems like your typical teenager, struggling with the harshness of high school and the realities that she doesn’t really fit in anywhere.  When she finally “awakens” she becomes torn between her new race and her human instincts and I think Jennings brilliantly illustrates Tuuli’s transformation and finally her awareness of who she really wants to be.  For that storyline alone, I think this is a great novel for young adults to read.

I loved the new (well, new for me at least) take on Elven mythology.  I thought Jennings did a great job working in both Elven and Viking mythology and truly making it her own story.  This is a science-fiction novel, but with all the intricate details about the Elven and Vikings, it felt more like historical fiction; that’s how believable I thought her story to be.  The characters are all likeable and the dialogue between Tuuli and Alvar felt genuine and believable.  First a first time book, I thought this one was written remarkably well.

As a native Tri-Citian, I loved that parts of this book took place in the Tri-Cities (which is in southeastern Washington).  Jennings’ description of the city after coming over the hills into the Columbia Basin was spot on, and I actually visualized in my mind the many times I’ve seen the Tri-Cities from that exact viewpoint.  There were so many sections that really had me thinking about my hometown, such as this passage, “After replacing the nozzle and putting back the cap, she went into the store to pay, letting a huge, translucent cloud of potato wedges, fried chicken and burritos swarm out the double doors.”  I don’t know what her inspiration for this sentence was, but it so reminded me of The General Store in Finley.

My only complaint, and it’s a small one, is that there seemed to be so much going on in this book (it’s a page turner) that some of the storylines felt a bit rushed.  I wish this story was broken into a series of books so that each storyline and plot had more time for depth and development.  I can understand why she packed it all into one novel, to keep the reader’s interest, but for me I think having a bit more explanation and development on the main storylines and characters really could’ve enhanced the overall appeal of this novel.  But, it’s still really well written and explained; I just get picky sometimes and wanted to learn more about the Elven mythology and the relationship between Tuuli and Alvar.  There is potential for a sequel, and I really hope that Jennings writes another book. 

I give this book a solid B+ grade.  For a first time novel, it’s done very well and I think it has the potential to appeal to a lot of readers.  It reminds me a lot of Karen Marie Moning’s “Highlander” and “Fever” series, just a little bit cleaner and without the in-depth romantic storyline.  This is a clean book (no swearing, no sex, and very few violent scenes) and I think it’s geared more towards young adult readers, but anyone that enjoys science fiction would enjoy it as well.  And anyone that went to River View High School or lived in the Tri-Cities should support our former classmate and local author.  I am biased because I do know this author, but if I didn’t enjoy this book, I wouldn’t have written (or posted) a review about it.  I highly recommend and I think if you take a chance on Seven Splinters, you’ll find it as surprisingly good as I did.