Who needs sleep, when you have a great book?
Under the Tree was a nice, short, young adult read. Even though it is fairly short, it took me about two weeks to finish it – I just couldn’t get emotionally invested, or care enough about the characters to read it quickly. Not completely the author’s fault; I guess I just need to be in the mood to read a Young Adult book such as this and I really did want to feel something while reading this.
Araya is a nice girl, who only wishes to escape from a kingdom that she does not wish to stay in, sparked by unwelcome advances from an untrustworthy Duke. She finds herself in Thor’s father’s kingdom, where Thor hides her away, so she may be safe.
For me, I would have enjoyed this book more if the characters were a little more built. I just felt like the characters were somewhat predictable and transparent, and I didn’t really see much of a difference between the two main characters: Araya and Thor. I suppose this was done to show how “right” they are for one another, which is completely fine.
Overall, I see the value in this story: very simple, straight-to-the-point and perfect for YA readers.