Carson debuts with a smart, complex fantasy with stellar characters, first in a planned trilogy. Even though she bears the mysterious and rare Godstone, 16-year-old Princess Elisa has been a disappointment to her family and country. Plain, overweight, and unmotivated, she is content to wed a handsome neighboring king to cement an alliance. After an arduous journey to her new home, Elisa arrives to find that her husband wants to keep their status hidden. But there are more pressing concerns-the enemy is preparing to invade, and Elisa is kidnapped. As she is thrust into a fight for survival on the borders of her new kingdom, Elisa is hunted by dark magicians and must piece together clues to fulfill her divine decree. Elisa is a sensational heroine, striving to fulfill her potential under perilous circumstances, while realistically growing in resourcefulness, inner strength, and intelligence. The odd nature of the Godstone (which is embedded in Elisa's stomach) may occasionally pull some readers out of the story, but Carson's mature writing style, thoughtful storytelling, appealing characters, and surprising twists add up to a page-turner with broad appeal. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In 16-year-old Elisa, first-time novelist Carson has created a fascinating and credible heroine who battles her way through her own timidity and self-doubt to discover her abilities to love, lead, and suffer loss without denying her future or her faith. Set in an alternative premodern Iberian- and Christianity-hued Saharan-like world, Elisa's adventures include an arranged marriage, a politically and religiously inspired kidnapping, hand-to-hand combat with knife and wits against men trained for battle, the traumatic death of her beloved, and the care of a six-year-old boy. She, as well as the central drama of this promising series starter, depends on the guidance of the holy gem she carries in her navel: the Godstone, which marks her as one whose service shows forth through history-changing practice as well as belief. Carson presents a thorough theology (complete with holy texts), complex characters, dramatic landscapes, royal courts, and a range of difficulties solved through wisdom rather than accident. Romantic, lush, and thought provoking.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 8 Up-Princess Elisa, 16, is the Chosen One. Bearing a sapphire-colored godstone in her navel, she is supposedly marked for greatness. But she doesn't see how. Chubby and naive, the most heroic act Elisa has ever performed is sneaking into the palace kitchen to steal coconut pastries. Shortly after her secret wedding to a neighboring king as part of a political agreement, Elisa is kidnapped and taken deep into the desert. Once the initial shock wears off, Elisa sympathizes with her captors, a band of revolutionaries written off by her kingdom as the faceless casualties of a previous skirmish. She even finds love with Humberto, the first of her captors to show her kindness. With the certainty of war on the horizon, Elisa initiates a plan to help her kingdom win and, hopefully, free her new friends from their political ties. Rae Carson's story (2011), as well as the world in which it is set, is rich and complex. Although the plot is heavy with political and religious overtones, the author manages this without seeming preachy. Elisa's character is expertly-drawn, and her transformation from a whiny, self-absorbed princess to a courageous young woman capable of leading her people is believable, very well-executed, and performed to perfection by Jennifer Ikeda. Fans of Tamora Pierce will be enchanted by this strong heroine and eagerly await the next volume, The Crown of Embers (2012, both Greenwillow).-Alissa Bach, Oxford Public Library, Oxford MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.ElisaPrincess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovallehas been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstoneand knowledge from the Belleza Guerracan save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa's "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.