Asperfell (Asperfell trilogy Book 1)

Briony is just a normal human living in a kingdom of luxury, nobility and magic. At the age of 8 she moves to the palace after the prince is accused of killing his father, the king. The prince is sent to the mage prison, Asperfell and his younger brother ascends the throne. With his reign, fear and paranoia begin to permeate the realm. Mages are persecuted and attacked for the power they hold. As Briony grows into herself she becomes enfolded into a resistance against the king. And before she knows it she's somehow ended up in Asperfell to rescue the broken prince. She must rescue the prince so that she can rescue her kingdom from a tyrannical king.

Jamie Thomas wrote Briony as a strong woman, who's grown into herself despite the obstacles she has faced. It's the type of story I would recommend any teen to read. It makes the reader feel empowered and courageous. That being pretty isn't what makes a person. She's a strong independent woman who doesn't let people determine who or what she should be, and it resonated strongly with me. The only problem that I had was that Briony didn't really have any character flaw. Briony was always courageous, had little self-doubt, and always did the right thing. It didn't quite have that realistic persona. But what was missed there was hit perfectly with the plot and what the prison represented.

When Briony goes to the prison she has an entire re-evaluation of how she viewed criminals. Most of them were normal hard-working people who, despite their crimes, were just trying to live normal lives. It represented criminals in ways that aren't typically looked at. And how punishment and forgiveness is dealt out. Who are we to make that decision. Can we forgive someone if they truly feel sorry for the crime they committed. And can we leave someone in a prison knowing they committed no real crime. The prison represented so much to this story and is quite thought-provoking after reading it.