This is the cozy fantasy I was looking for. Well, maybe "cozy" isn't the right word, but it's well written. Good characters, good conflict, and good premise.

Said premise is that "shaming" is the magic here, which really means looking into the subject's eyes and making him feel guilty enough to confess his crimes. Sort of like Ghost Rider's "penance stare", only it's in Eragon. That's a solid setting in itself, but the characters are interesting enough to carry it, especially when it becomes a murder mystery and political throne-grabbing.

It reminded me of "Far Far Away" in terms of style. Maybe that's the translation at work. There is no slowness (maybe because it's YA, which also means it's not too long), and I see potential for storylines in the next sequence. Characters are not douchebags and no one holds an idiot ball, but there are a few trappings, like evil princes and dumb peasants. It's one of the few books of a series that makes me want to find out what happens next.

This was an interesting read that made a lot more sense when I saw it was published in 2000. It's fast enough paced; the main character is relatively reactive/passive for much of the story and it gets much more interesting when she has to act for herself. At the same time, it makes sense since she's ten years old.

The world-building is interesting and the author never infodumps. You just pick things up as the story progresses. There are several hints of a larger world, references to places that exist but don't show up in the story, that sort. It makes for a more immersive sense of the world. Unfortunately some of the pacing was... sub-excellent. Adding a character in 75% of the way through who's meant to seem significant by the end? The truth is, she did seem significant, but that only made it worse that she shows up so late.

Some things may be related to translation. It's a bit of a solid read as far as prose is concerned. Whether that's stylistic or to do with language, I can't say. But what really bothered me was how casually misogynistic was. There's a lot of casually calling someone a bitch, whore, or slut--in a book about a ten year old. It made me wonder who this is intended for. Or maybe that wasn't there in the original, and for some reason the translator felt that it added something. (It does not.) (Or rather it does but nothing good.)

Basically, it doesn't fit very well. The character is too young to do much, but the book is very slow to engage most readers of that age or thereabouts, and there are some pretty crude terms for that age, too.

But in the end, I enjoyed reading this book. It was between 2 and 3 for me, and I finished it, which is NOT a given! So to me, it deserves the three stars.

Totally not my kind of story, but I really enjoyed this and plan on continuing the series.

Intenst til å være barnebok!

Still a fantastic tale!

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What a cool concept! The Shamer's Daughter follows eleven-year-old Dina, who is the daughter of something called a Shamer. Shamers' powers, which are inherited genetically, allow the Shamer to look anyone in the eye and force them to relive all of their shameful memories and confess their bad deeds.

The Shamer's gift is rare and the few around, like Dina's mother, are called on to settle legal disputes. This turns south when she is called to prove a man guilty in the matter of a royal murder - and the royal family doesn't like when she turns the blame on them.

When I picked up The Shamer's Daughter at the library, I didn't know it was targeted at such a young audience. Since the main character is 11, I'm assuming that the target audience is probably 8-12. I can understand a lot of the two-star reviews I'm seeing from fellow adults like myself, but I can see my younger self loving this book.

It's one of those YA books that straddles the lines of the genre. There is legitimate danger, graphic descriptions, foul language, and all those edgy things that neonates love to feel mature in reading.

However, the reason it wasn't too interesting to me as an adult was how simple characters and relationships were. Everyone Dina met was either a friend or a foe, and once someone was a friend, they were automatically a part of the "hero team" and a main character, no questions asked.

Had to give it a three-star since I'm sure younger kids would love it, though it wasn't my cup of tea. I'd suggest passing it on to an advanced young reader who loves fantasy.

Absolutely loved it. Looking forward to the next.

Dina is blessed/cursed with her mothers powers of seeing the truth in all things, can she save her mother from a conspiring king who would kill her for the truth?

A Shamer can pull all your shame to light... but not everyone feels shame. Protagonist is a mix of very mature, and very young.