To Nowhere by C.E. Wilson

Publication: 2015

# of Pages: 206

Source: Kindle Version, Provided by Author

Favorite Quotes:

• "You want to try some white creme in your mocha?"
• "You know curiosity is usually a good thing but I think in this case it might be a little dangerous." 

Goodreads Summary/Blurb: 

A world no one would believe. 

From the moment Lyris is treated to coffee by a beautiful stranger, she has no idea her life is about to changer forever. In her enthusiasm to start at a new school with a new boyfriend, Lyris is almost able to look past his oddities. 

Almost 

The way he eyes up her striking red hair. 

The way he love's that she is seventeen. "The perfect age." 

And the way he's gone from all but begging to show her a specific room in a specific house to making her swear that to never even thinking about it again. 

When Lyris doesn't take these strange warning seriously, she finds that nothing could have prepared her for what lay behind that door. 

Suddenly, Lyris finds herself in a world no one would believe. A world where she's only a few inches tall and giants aren't creatures tales. Where humans are no longer the dominant race, but pets auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lyris understands the true danger of such a place, but there seems to be one person on her side. 

Her kind and surprised captor. 

And while Brindt appears to be sweet and trustworthy, he also straddles the line between seeing her as an equal and a cute animal. 

Lyris has to get home...before the one person she can turn to becomes the one person who can't let her go.

My Review/Thoughts: 

Let me premise this review by stating that I have only read one book prior to this novel related to the subject of giants and it was Roald Dahl's The BFG. The actual idea of a human becoming  trapped in a world where they become completely re-sized completely peaked my interest. Lyris is a well-off high school student required to move to a new area because of new employment acquired by her parents. Of course, as any high school student, she has her reservations about making new friends and taking new courses. However, it is in her new found relationship with Wyatt that she finds the joy and confidence in being in this new area. For me the instant attraction and willingness of Lyris to trust Wyatt after only knowing him for a short amount of time was both unrealistic and frustrating. It was almost as if the predicament of Lyris being found in this world could have been prevented had she spent more time getting to know Wyatt and had the opportunity to truly analyze his intentions and personality. Wyatt was a character that I never cared for and he truly exhibited no redeeming qualities. However, his lack of morals and ethics assisted Lyris in understanding what qualities she needed to change about herself. It was towards the end that Lyris begins to understand the essence of compassion. 

Once absorbed in the world of the giants, the reader is exposed to a language barrier between Lyris and her captive Brindt. What I did enjoy about this element of the novel is that the reader feels just as lost and confused as the narrator. It is almost as if we, too, are lost in world where not only our size, but our language is extremely different. I was often torn between liking and disliking Brindt's character. Although he found it in his nature to care about Lyris he was also controlling and possessive. It was only at the end that I truly found a redeeming quality in Brindt. Additionally, what I would have liked to see more of was the development of the giant world. The text focused too heavily on the relationship between Brindt and Lyris and not enough on how the giant world differed and functioned in comparison to the human world. If the author decides to come out with a sequel to this novel, I would really love to see how she further builds the relationship between Brindt and Lyris as well as how she would continue to build the differences between the human world and the giant world.

Overall, I liked the book. It was an interesting perspective and development of characters identified as giants. I have a lot of questions in reference to the novel including why the giant world exists, how targerters get their positions, and how many other portals to the giant world exist. If you are interested a young adult fantasy novels that center around giants then I would recommend this novel. It was cute and a quick and easy read.

Rating: 3/5 Stars