Steeplejack (Audible Audio Edition) A J Hartley Noma Dumezweni Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : Steeplejack (Audible Audio Edition) A J Hartley Noma Dumezweni Audible Studios Books
Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)
Thoughtfully imaginative and action-packed, Steeplejack is New York Times best-selling A. J. Hartley's YA debut, set in a 19th-century South African fantasy world. Actress Noma Dumezweni - best known for originating the role of Hermione Granger in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - narrates with the precision and delicacy of a high wire act to bring a remarkably complex and one of a kind heroine to life.
Seventeen-year-old Anglet Sutonga lives repairing the chimneys, towers, and spires of the city of Bar-Selehm. Dramatically different communities live and work alongside each other. The white Feldish command the nation's higher echelons of society. The native Mahweni are divided between city life and the savannah. And then there's Ang, part of the Lani community who immigrated over generations ago as servants and now mostly live in poverty on Bar-Selehm's edges.
When Ang is supposed to meet her new apprentice Berrit, she instead finds him dead. That same night, the Beacon, an invaluable historical icon, is stolen. The Beacon's theft commands the headlines, yet no one seems to care about Berrit's murder - except for Josiah Willinghouse, an enigmatic young politician. When he offers her a job investigating his death, she plunges headlong into new and unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, crowds gather in protests over the city's mounting troubles. Rumors surrounding the Beacon's theft grow. More suspicious deaths occur. With no one to help Ang except Josiah's haughty younger sister, a savvy newspaper girl, and a kindhearted herder, Ang must rely on her intellect and strength to resolve the mysterious link between Berrit and the missing Beacon before the city descends into chaos.
Steeplejack (Audible Audio Edition) A J Hartley Noma Dumezweni Audible Studios Books
This is the kind of book I want more of in YA fantasy. Steeplejack was entertaining and beautifully written in a city colonized and still dealing with the effects of that, as seen through its structure and its people. Though considered young adult, this book reads a lot more like an adult fantasy in how dense and intricate it is and I am ALL there for it!I think what first sold me was the world and the writing. Woven seamlessly together, they created a rich and vibrant city of Bar-Selehm, a city with diverse residences and very distinct cultures attempting to fit together in this single space. Did I mention it's inspired by South Africa? How awesome is that?!
One of the aspects of Steeplejack that set it apart from other YA fantasies I've read is that it takes on the topic of race and makes it a core idea throughout the entire book. How the characters act, the choices they make, it all ties to their cultural and racial backgrounds and I liked that this was both a large part of the world but a smaller part of the story. And by that I mean that everything was written in such a way that this was the world. It didn't feel out of place or thrust upon the plot to make a point. It simply... was, and it worked while still making a point about the class and race differences, as well as how the characters fit within the world and fought their societal standing.
All of this would be nothing, however, without Anglet Sutonga, Ang for short. Told through her eyes in first person point-of-view, you get to live the daily life of a steeplejack, though not your typical seventeen-year-old. She's strong and courageous, caught between two worlds and constantly at odds of how to go forth in the world. But she's still quite flawed and I wondered why someone like her would make some of the decisions she did, and she's a bit "big" for the world, being one of the best steeplejacks out there, but I didn't mind this too much by the end, if I'm being totally honest.
I loved that her family had a lot of page time and their relationships, between her and her two sisters, her former community, her deceased father, they all made up a part of her and continued to impact her life. I feel like families aren't really a big part of fantasy, acting more as a plot device than a constant presence in the protagonist's life as in the case of Ang. It was refreshing, to say the least, and used the character's background to bring more to the story rather than relying on unrelated subplots or a romance.
Oh right, by the way, for those of you who want to read more fantasy WITHOUT romance (I know you're out there), this is the book for you.
Combined, this young steeplejack and this beautifully diverse and intricate world create a mystery packed full of action and secrets. I'm really excited to see where her adventures take her in the next book, Firebrand, and HIGHLY recommend y'all grab a copy of Steeplejack before the sequel comes out!
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Steeplejack (Audible Audio Edition) A J Hartley Noma Dumezweni Audible Studios Books Reviews
Steeplejack starts out with following the day to day of a young woman who makes her living climbing and rebuilding tall chimneys in a world that bears a strong resemblance to South Africa. Living on the streets one step ahead of disaster has honed her survival instincts. She is gradually drawn into investigating the death of a fellow street kid. The situation grows and perils come out of nowhere to threaten our heroine. What could be a standard read in less experienced hands is transformed by good writing. I was particularly struck by how the author deftly wove minor characters into the plot with skill and lots of heart. Drawing the good and bad guys and girls into multi-dimensional characters made this a read to be remembered. Recommended.
I enjoyed reading about Ang a 17-year-old female who was an expert climber and strong. She climbed brick buildings using finger holes and toe holes. She climbed inside chimneys pushing with her feet and back. She traveled a lot over rooftops. She lived with a gang of youths who worked for a bad-guy. It was set in a fictional world with horse drawn carriages and guns. A rich guy hired Ang to investigate a robbery and murder of a kid in her gang. This gave Ang a little money for the first time.
The ending was complete and the mystery solved.
It was told in first person Ang which was ok for a private detective story, but I didn’t like it. I would have preferred third person.
DATA
Narrative mode 1st person Ang. Story length 336 pages. count length 4917. Swearing language none. Sexual content none. Setting fictional time and place similar to early 1800s Europe. Copyright 2016. Genre young adult adventure.
The opening is a mesmerizing account of climbing a chimney to repair it, perfectly explaining the main character, the city, and the culture in a single moment. The moment when our main character realizes the Beacon is missing.
The story then unfolds in this alternate universe without magic or weird-science, from the era of steampunk without being steampunk. Part murder mystery, part political thriller. Our seventeen-year-old protagonist, whose skin color bars her entry to everything with power and money, discovers herself in the middle of power and money.
All she wants is justice for a boy no one cared about. A hidden murder of a throw-away child in a throw-away occupation; steeplejacks fall all the time. To solve his murder, Ang will have to climb high in the city's political soot and ash, and risk falling even further. If she falls, she will be just another steeplejack crumpled by the city's harsh cobblestones.
But if she doesn't fall, she just might ignite a war.
Read for a book club.
This is the kind of book I want more of in YA fantasy. Steeplejack was entertaining and beautifully written in a city colonized and still dealing with the effects of that, as seen through its structure and its people. Though considered young adult, this book reads a lot more like an adult fantasy in how dense and intricate it is and I am ALL there for it!
I think what first sold me was the world and the writing. Woven seamlessly together, they created a rich and vibrant city of Bar-Selehm, a city with diverse residences and very distinct cultures attempting to fit together in this single space. Did I mention it's inspired by South Africa? How awesome is that?!
One of the aspects of Steeplejack that set it apart from other YA fantasies I've read is that it takes on the topic of race and makes it a core idea throughout the entire book. How the characters act, the choices they make, it all ties to their cultural and racial backgrounds and I liked that this was both a large part of the world but a smaller part of the story. And by that I mean that everything was written in such a way that this was the world. It didn't feel out of place or thrust upon the plot to make a point. It simply... was, and it worked while still making a point about the class and race differences, as well as how the characters fit within the world and fought their societal standing.
All of this would be nothing, however, without Anglet Sutonga, Ang for short. Told through her eyes in first person point-of-view, you get to live the daily life of a steeplejack, though not your typical seventeen-year-old. She's strong and courageous, caught between two worlds and constantly at odds of how to go forth in the world. But she's still quite flawed and I wondered why someone like her would make some of the decisions she did, and she's a bit "big" for the world, being one of the best steeplejacks out there, but I didn't mind this too much by the end, if I'm being totally honest.
I loved that her family had a lot of page time and their relationships, between her and her two sisters, her former community, her deceased father, they all made up a part of her and continued to impact her life. I feel like families aren't really a big part of fantasy, acting more as a plot device than a constant presence in the protagonist's life as in the case of Ang. It was refreshing, to say the least, and used the character's background to bring more to the story rather than relying on unrelated subplots or a romance.
Oh right, by the way, for those of you who want to read more fantasy WITHOUT romance (I know you're out there), this is the book for you.
Combined, this young steeplejack and this beautifully diverse and intricate world create a mystery packed full of action and secrets. I'm really excited to see where her adventures take her in the next book, Firebrand, and HIGHLY recommend y'all grab a copy of Steeplejack before the sequel comes out!
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