{"id":4508,"date":"2018-04-09T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4508"},"modified":"2018-04-08T08:22:53","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T15:22:53","slug":"mark-reads-on-ordeal-roshaun-chapter-1-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/04\/mark-reads-on-ordeal-roshaun-chapter-1-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads “On Ordeal: Roshaun” – Chapter 1, Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen parts of the royal palace on Wellakhit before, but this is a much<\/i> more complete view of the place and what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to live there. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty cool that Duane still captures that sense of being an aimless, angsty teenager, despite that this setting is otherwise completely unrecognizable. Well, I guess if you grew up in some sort of ridiculous mansion full of servants in livery\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 invite me over? Just give me a room for free, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M DOWN WITH THAT.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I know the worst \u00e2\u20ac\u0153angst\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has a general negative connotation to it, which is unfortunate because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a word I enjoy a great deal. It implies a sense of anxiety that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s borne of this desire for change. Rho absolutely wants a different life: one without the pressures and responsibilities of being Sunborn. One without the expectations of his servants or without the sense that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing more than an extra place setting at the dinner table. He wants a world free from his loneliness. His restless wandering. His sense that his whole life is planned for him, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have no choice in what to do.<\/p>\n

And, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ket mawhir<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to see that as the main source of his ongoing anxiety, though I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to ignore the way his trauma intersects with this. It unsettles him throughout this chapter, even when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s far, far from it. (But is<\/i> he far from it? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that casual reveal that doors are shut behind the Sunborn so that it is harder to people to reach them. Even in quiet, unassuming moments, Roshaun is reminded of the life he has to live.) But I can tell that being passed over for wizardry eats at Rho more than anything else. As he lazes about his room, I got this sense that he knew his life would be difficult. He might be unhappy. He might wish for anything else. But all<\/i> of it would be worse because he had no wizardry. He would be amongst one of the very few ket mawhir<\/i> Sunborn to ever have to protect his world from the sun. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 you know what??? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like salt in a wound, the rotten cherry on top of all of Rho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unhappiness.<\/p>\n

And really, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the big thing that I took away from the first chapter of this story: Roshan seems real<\/i> unhappy. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtually no joy in any of this, aside from glimpses of it in memories. In particular, that very brief scene where Rho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents have a gentle argument on the balcony is a powerful one. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hate his parents at all! He actually loves them a great deal and you can tell. So, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really cool that Duane avoids a common trope to instead focus on this sense that Roshaun deeply, deeply wants more.<\/p>\n

HE IS ABOUT TO GET IT, TOO!!! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat element to this story, too. The reader already knows that Roshaun is a powerful, talented wizard, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a trip to see him so down on himself, so certain that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never be able to do anything important or meaningful. YOU HAVE NO IDEA, ROSHAUN. But this outlook is important, especially for teens who feel trapped or like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stuck in impossible situations. I definitely felt this way, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written openly about it for years. And guess what? I found a way out. I found a way to escape, to be myself, and to find happiness.<\/p>\n

I am now very invested in seeing how Roshaun does the same.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/NHzT55n2YXo<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"