Saturday, December 13, 2014

Killer Frost Review: Gwen

I am a gypsy. 
I am Nike's Champion. 

There is a war coming. 
Nike, the goddess of victory, tasked me with ending it. 

I will end it.
Or it will end me. 

My name today is Gwen Frost.


Today, I'm Gwen Frost from Killer Frost, the final book in the Mythos Academy series!

Book: Killer Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Mythos Academy
Book Status: Book 6 (final)
Setting: North Carolina (modern day)
POV: first person, told by Gwen
Genre: YA paranormal, mythology

Reading: First time
Favorite line: "You can't stop me. You can't stop me from doing one single thing, especially not this."
Favorite part: That ending. I just...
Rating: 5 Stars

I got to say, when I first picked up this series during the summer, I wasn't too sure what to expect. I mean a gypsy? I wasn't really too big of a fan on the whole gypsy concept, probably because I always thought gypsies weren't exactly the most threatening group of people out there. But Gwen...well, her being a gypsy isn't even half of what she can do, of who she is. She's got brains, a sword, and loyalty quite literally to a fault to her friends and family. I fell in love with her character, and now I'm on the last leg of her journey. 

To begin with, Gwen's probably the most relatable character I've ever read about. She's always been the weird person (being a gpysy and all), the one no one really understands or notices, until she finds out that she is Nike's (who's the Greek goddess of victory) Champion. (Side note: hello, goddess of victory chooses you as her prime representative? There's bound to be something good (like victory) out of this!) Gwen goes from loner to major butt-kicking hero, and along the way she gains a pack of loyal friends. 

What really got me when I read about Gwen was her desire to do the right thing for her friends and family. When people she loves are put in danger, Gwen dives head first into saving them, regardless of how crazy and illogical her plans are. Yes, if she looks at the "bigger picture", there are some cases where people are arguably not worth saving, but Gwen is able to look past (cough, see ignore) that and save them anyways. All without letting the world fall into chaos. 

I really found that the things she does and feels is pretty realistic. Her constant worry over the safety of her friends, her thought process for doing selfless solo actions, the guilt she feels for lying to protect people, the way she rebels against orders that she doesn't agree with, the list goes on. She goes with her heart all the way, and I admire her for that. Yes, she is frequently shot down by adults and their logic, but that doesn't stop her from making her own plans and executing them herself. She gets things done, with or without others to help. Nothing stands in her way; one way or another, she will find a way to get what needs to be done, done.

Gwen's journey really brought out the importance of friends, of not being afraid to lean on others sometimes. Yes, it takes up a lot of pride, but in the war Gwen's fighting, she needs people to support her. It doesn't make her weak; her friends are her power. They are her motivation, her drive to not fail her mission, her motivation to save the world. 

I really love Gwen, and I'm sad to see the end of her journey. It was one I really enjoyed, one that I really connected to on a personal level. The way she thinks, the things she does, they're all the same things I would have done in her shoes. I see myself in her in many aspects, from her attitude to her scheming to her desire to not fail her friends. Her heart is truely in the righty place. 

Give it a read, and let me know what you guys think!

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