Rebel
Rebel (Faery Rebels #2)R.J. AndersonRebel is the sequel to Knife which I adored. Although I did not enjoy this book as much as the first it had nothing to do with the story telling. R.J. Anderson is a fantastic writer and crafts a wonderfully written fantasy adventure in the Faery Rebel world.I didn't seem to connect with the two main characters (Linden and Timothy) as I did in Knife (Knife and Paul). In fact I downright disliked Timothy - and it has nothing to with his name (because I know that R.J. Anderson had some difficulties in getting the name Timothy through her editor since it's not a very well-received name in the UK). I didn't much care for his attitude and at times I felt he was angry and rude to Linden for no apparent reason. At one point I thought his attitude was going to be explained by the injury he received on the train by a rival faerie, but nope. Timothy was just nasty for being nasty I guess.I liked the idea of Linden's quest to find other faeries in the world and try to get their help in restoring their magic. What made me sad was the fact that all faeries encountered were unkind and unhelpful. Not everyone turns out to be a lost cause in the end, but the change of hearts seemed untrue to me.It took me a little while to figure out how much time had passed between the two books. At one point near the end of the story Peri (Knife) mentions giving up being a faerie 14 years earlier. I suppose that's why I was a little confused with how old she and Paul seemed at the start of the book. I hadn't realized it was that much later.I missed the life of the Oakenfolk in the big Oak. Rebel's main focus is in the human world, in and around London, England. It seemed a little less fantasy-like because of that and more adventure story. One of the aspects I loved about Knife was the life of the faeries in their tree. I am hoping that the next book will swing the focus to the Oak.I think R.J. Anderson is a beautiful writer and I do get caught up in her storytelling. I can't wait for Arrow to release in the UK in January 2011. Anderson's books seem to be an annual birthday present for myself! Woohoo!Oh, and an aside... I just don't get the name changes for the North American editions. And those covers! I am happy to stick with the UK editions of these books until the end of time, thank you very much! I hope there will be a Brian Froud cover once more for the next book!Faery Rebels series