Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

In Ursula K. Le Guin's GIFTS, the gifts in question bring more trouble than happiness to the novel's main character, sixteen-year-old Orrec. Orrec lives in the Uplands, a rough landscape where small clans squabble amongst themselves to maintain their land holdings and cattle herds. The leader of each clan has a specific gift: a mystical power that allows them to call animals or twist human bodies with the force of their mind. Orrec is the next in line to lead his clan, and his family's gift is one of the most terrible: the undoing. His father can kill a man with a word and a gesture, and it is expected that Orrec will come into the same power. However, when Orrec's power arrives, it is wild and uncontrollable, and he must stay blind-folded to avoid harming those he loves.

The best thing about this outstanding novel is its premise. Everyone has wished at one time or another for a secret power. GIFTS forces the question: what if your having such a gift caused harm to the people around you? It gives no easy answers, exploring the issue with depth and feeling. The society and culture of the Uplanders is detailed and realistic, making the conflicts that much more powerful. Readers will quickly feel as though they've lived in this wonderful and terrifying world themselves.

As narrator, Orrec is thoughtful and questioning, with a rhythmic voice that recalls traditional story-tellers. He handles the tragedies and disappointments in his life with honesty and good humor. Despite being from a somewhat alien world, his view is very human and teens will find it easy to see through his eyes. When he is finally able to face the most disappointing truth of all, readers will cheer even as they share his pain.

GIFTS is an excellent read for teens of all interests. Fans of fantasy will be particularly drawn to it, but the world is grounded enough in earthly reality that it should appeal even to those who usually avoid the fantastical. Thought-provoking and suspenseful, with a dollop of action and romance, a novel like this is a gift to its readers. ( )

This is the first in a trilogy: Gifts, Voices, and Powers. I accidentally read Powers first. I've liked both of the these, and plan to read Voices next. She's created a rich and interesting world (no surprise), with gender roles, community and economic structures that are a shift from the usual assumptions. ( )

The first part was a little strange- the way it seemed to begin one way to jump right into a story-mode flashback... and how at the end it didn't seem like an "end" to the flashback itself, but instead as if the story was still being told.Other than that, I found the book very enjoyable. It was interesting, and seemed a good opening and background info to what could be a very interesting story. It was a quick, easy read. I'm looking forward to finding the second part. ( )

The premise: The families of the Uplands are poor, but carry very powerful gifts in their lineage. Orrec's family's gift is that of unmaking, and when Orrec's gift finally reveals itself, it's wild, uncontrollable. He fears what he might do to those he loves, so he chooses to blindfold himself. But times are changing in the Uplands, with warring families trying to steal each other's land and livestock, and Orrec may not have the time he needs to get his gift under control.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: if you're a fan of Le Guin, particularly her Earthsea stories, I recommend this book. It's a personal story, what it means to have magic and to be responsible for it. It's quiet, but not without conflict, and the human element is sharp and poignant. I'm not entirely convinced this book is something a typical YA reader would eat up, but what do I know? I'm no longer YA, and I don't know any YA readers personally. So I can only recommend this book to fans of Le Guin, or at least those readers who like quiet fantasies with a personal touch. I'll be interested to see what the other two books in this trilogy do, but I'm in no hurry to read them.

The full review, which does include spoilers, may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Ursula K. Le Guin's GIFTS

Happy Reading! :) ( )

Gifts starts the Annals of the Western Shores, a trilogy (so far) of fantasy novels for young adults. That doesn't stop me from reading it, no, because Le Guin is such an excellent story-teller. The book is fairly short and quick to read - but with a book shelf full of unread books, that's not a bad thing at all.

The story is fabulous, that's what counts. It's about two youths, growing up on the highlands where magical powers run in families. Neither of them wants to use their power, for good or bad. The themes of the book - responsibility, fulfilling the expectations of parents, power - are old and familiar, but the way Le Guin uses them is very pleasing. I also really enjoyed the world, with its earthbound magic. Highly recommended, both for younger and older readers!

(Original review at my review blog) ( )

The story is slow but Le Guin's writing is elegant and lyrical. What I loved most about the book was not the characters or even the story but Le Guin's characterization of the world of stories and how they help heal the soul. Her passages that talk about stories and storytelling are poignant and beautiful.

My favorite passages include:
"I had no sense of the sacredness of a story, or rather they were all sacred to me, the wonderful word-beings which, so long as I was hearing or telling them, made a world I could enter seeing, free to act: a world I knew and understood, that had its own rules, yet was under my control as the world beyond the stories was not. In the boredom and inactivity of my blindness, I lived increasingly in these stories, remembering them, asking my mother to tell them, and going on with them myself, giving them form, speaking them into being as the Spirit did in Chaos." (188)

"You have the gift, you have the gift of unmaking! I don't. I never did. You tricked me. Maybe you tricked yourself because you couldn't stand it that your son wasn't what you wanted. I don't know. I don't care. I know you can't use me any longer. My eyes or my blindness. They're not yours, they're mine. I won't let your lies cheat me any more I won't let your sham shame me any more. Find yourself another son, since this one's not good enough.... The book lay open, the book of the great poet, the treasure of joy and solace. But I could not read it. I had my eyes back, but what was I to do with them? What good were they, what good was I? Who are we now? Gry had ask. If I was not my father's son, who was I?" (258-259) ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2007/06... ( )

A coming-of-age story about power; having it, not having it, using it. It is a fully imagined world, where we see one of a multitude of cultures, and people struggle to get by despite very strong psychic powers, and the hero's emotional life is well drawn. Nonetheless, I found it less satisfying than her best. ( )

Gifts, by Ursula K. LeGuin is the story of a brave young man that chooses to blindfold himself rather than use his wild gift of "unmaking" with the help of his childhood friend. Together they protect his land and people from his abilities and from outsiders that covet their land and livestock.

As usual, LeGuin does a beautiful job of creating new cultures and worlds where the human characters express feelings as we know them, enabling the relation to our reality. The blindness and its necessity are situations we can feel even though the reason, the gift, is a new concept. The story flows well and gives an excitement and fondness for literature through the main character's own love of the written word, the gift of which was won late in life. ( )

http://www.bookpage.com/0409bp/childr... ( )