Kearsten says: This was quite interesting - a boy, coming back from his solo initiation to manhood, survives a tsunami in a small canoe. But when he returns to his island, hoping to see his family and the others of the Nation, waiting to complete his initiation, he is met with an empty beach and the complete destruction of his village. His desolation nearly kills him, until he discovers that his island holds one other survivor - a young white girl, the only survivor on a ship that, carried by the wave, has been marooned on the island. Can these two - separated by culture, language and fear - come together and rebuild a Nation?

Wonderfully written, scary and uplifting, I couldn't decide who I liked more - Daphne, in her stubborn refusal to freak out, or Mau, in his stubborn refusal to let Lokachu (sp?), the god of death, win his soul...if he even has one any more... ( )

Not standard Pratchett but enjoyable, a good thought provoking YA read ( )

Nation is an alternate-reality fantasy teen fiction. Fun category… lol. A point made in the book by Locaha, god of death, is that there is no such thing as “does not happen,” only “does not happen here.” For every event that does or does not occur, the alternate occurs in another of the millions and billions of other imperfect worlds Imo, the god of creation, made. And in the world of Nation, there are tree-climbing octopi and an Island named after every holiday that was ever created, including “Mrs Ethel J. Bundy’s Birthday Island.”

Nation begins with a mighty crashing wave that wipes out all of Mau’s village. Mau, who was returning from his trial to become a man, believes he’s left his boy-soul on the island of children, and has no way of receiving his man-soul without the others. Therefore, he believes he has no soul. When other survivors of the great wave begin turning up on his island, they view him with suspicion and awe, as a Demon Boy. Among the other survivors is an English girl who also has shed her former self in the form of her name, Ermintrude, and has created a new person, one with purpose, by the name of Daphne. Unbeknownst to Daphne, she is the only child of the last heir to the Throne… unless they go about crowning Frenchies, that is… and no one wants that, especially the French (paraphrased from the book, don’t hate me!)

Pratchett’s humor is just one thing I loved about this book. It’s highly imaginative, too. But more than that, it’s insightful. He sees into the heart of people and gives the reader truth disguised as lies, which is what the best of art is all about. Pratchett presents us with a boy without a soul who does not allow the past to pull him under, but instead makes a new soul for himself, one that is stronger than any has ever had before. He shows us a girl who has been forced to sit by and helplessly watch her mother and newborn brother die, the emasculation of her father by her grandmother, and the loss of all she knew, who creates for herself a person with purpose and power. The two of them, Mau and Daphne, become the pillars that the new Nation cling to and revere.

Click here for full review: http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/20... ( )

Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

Mau is away from his small island when a giant wave destroys his village, leaving him alone - and unable to complete the ceremony that would have given him his man's soul. It takes all his strength just to carry on, with the voices of his ancestors haunting him.

Daphne finds herself the lone survivor when the ship she was traveling on crashes into Mau's island on the same wave. With little to guide her but her grandmother's training for high society, she isn't sure whether to approach Mau as a potential friend or foe.

As other survivors gather on the island, Mau and Daphne form a bond and work to create a society that's all their own. Mau begins to believe in himself despite his fear that he lacks a soul. Daphne realizes there are far more important things than propriety.

But when all they've gained is threatened by an outside enemy, will their makeshift community be able to hold steady?

NATION has everything you could ask for in a novel. Its dramatic scenes are both poignant and moving, with Pratchettt's customary humor keeping the proceedings from straying into melodrama. Both main characters are distinctive, and it's a pleasure watching them come into their own throughout the story. The villains are suitably creepy and brutal. Little details of the setting and cultures make it all feel so real.

Highly recommended to both teens and adults. ( )

Lady Wombat says:

I'm intrigued by several recent fantasy books that have been influenced by post-colonial theory -- think I might do a conference paper on them.