The Girl of Fire and Thorns

It's easy to see why this book would be a big hit with adolescents despite its length -- there's a teenaged queen, war, romance, and plenty of magic and sorcery. Girls will especially relate and hopefully see parts of themselves in the coming-of-age of the strong, likable heroine, Queen Elisa. To teenagers who feel like no one listens to them or understands them, the story could be quite empowering.

While The Girl of Fire and Thorns (2011) has an engaging plot, there are some deeper themes to be gleaned and potentially used in a classroom, including religion and weight. Elisa often prays throughout the book and gets her power from a "godstone." She quotes from the Lengua Classica, the "Fire and Thorns" bible. While pious, she's not preachy. The author's views on religion are not clear; there's no obvious agenda. Religion is usually considered a taboo subject for the classroom, but the way it is presented in the book makes it approachable, no matter your beliefs. Its role in the book is mostly to encourage thought of how people use religion.

For example, the story features many characters committing ungodly acts in the name of God: "Even my enemy presumes to know the mind of God," says Elisa (Carson 252). God seems to favor people who are evil at times, which begs the question: Why do you good things happen to bad people? And vice versa. Furthermore, there's lots of talk about "God's will." Elisa gets fed up with such talk: "How many times have I heard someone declare their understanding of this thing I find so indefinable?" (Carson 300). Other comments in the book also raise the prospect of tackling religion in a purposeful manner:
"I didn't need faith in God as much as I needed faith in myself" (Carson 422).
"God picked me because I was unworthy" (Carson 422).

Few novels, movies, or stories have an overweight protagonist. Elisa is fat and "has an unhealthy relationship with food. No one believes she’ll accomplish anything, and her lifelong social conditioning has caused her to believe this harmful perception" (Carson 428). When an unfiltered six-year-old tells her, "You're fat" (Carson 111), she's initially mortified:
"For a brief moment, I consider fleeing, but even in my shocked state, I know things would be worse for me if I did.
So I do the only thing I can.
I laugh. I laugh like it's the funniest thing I've ever heard" (Carson 111).
Carson's heroine is an inspiration for students who struggle with their weight that they can achieve success to, even if people tend to doubt them.

Some possible discussion questions/activities:
1) Which character do you most identify with? Why?
2) Fantasy cast: Which actors/actresses would you cast in a movie version of the novel? Explain your choices.
3) Would you like to have the power Elisa has? Or would it be too much of a burden? Think of other powerful people in the world, for example, President Obama. Would you embrace having power or rather not have the responsibility to make life or death decisions?
4) What happens next? Write a short story about what lies ahead for Elisa.