Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who is the Fairest of them all?
Because Fairest is such a small book, one I pretty much steamed through it once I had finished Cress, I didn't get a chance to try and write up a 'Currently Reading...' post for it. That said, if I had tried to write up a post about what I was currently reading for it, there wouldn't be much to say in the Review itself. So, good thing I skipped out on that, aye?
So, first and foremost, Fairest: Levana's Story is all about the evil Queen of the Lunar Chronicles, Levana herself. This is an origins story, if anything, and focuses on the characteristics and development of Levana, and how she came to be the person that she was, and why. It looks more into her personality than anything, much like the first three books of the series; the Lunar Chronicles are, first and foremost, character-driven books, so of course this one would be character-driven, too.
After reading a few reviews of this book before even reading it myself, it seems that a lot of fans of the Lunar Chronicles really enjoyed the book, understood why Levana is the way she became, however still heavily dislike her no matter what. Of course, I do agree with them - we come to an understanding with Levana here, and I like that this little prequel was included to better our understanding as readers as to why Levana is such a royal bitch (pun intended), but honestly, this story only leads me to pitying Levana's character, more than anything.
In Fairest, we are introduced to Levana who is, at first, an innocent but selfish princess who has been overshadowed by her cruel and stupid, yet beautiful and beloved sister Channary, who is to become the Queen of Luna after the sudden death of their parents. Levana, as the youngest, is seen as more of a nuisance than anything by the court even though she is smart, resourceful and political, everything that her sister isn't. Due to birthright however, Levana is simply the younger princess and nothing more.
Now, I flew through Fairest, but despite how small the book is compared to Cinder, Scarlet and Cress, you get to watch and learn more about Levana, to experience her growth from a young and innocent princess, selfish due to her upbringing, and watch her turn into what I can only describe as a psychopath for a Queen who will do anything she can, as unjustifiable and despicable as it is, to get what she wants, to basically attain the crown that she has craved since she was a 15 year old girl who lived beneath her sister's perfect shadow.
Levana, you learn, really does not start out as this devious, cruel and dislike-able person, but turns into who she has become progressively; she has ambition and desires, a love that she craves that she never before had from her sister nor her parents, however her views are distorted, twisted even... but you want to pity her, because she craves affection that she never experienced before hand. Even though you hate her for basically forcing someone to love her falsely, you still pity her because she is someone who is seemingly unloved, who people shun because she is the second-born and the ugly sister.
Still, her actions are unacceptable and, whilst I pity the character herself, I still dislike her greatly and find her despicable - but, to her, she is doing what is necessary, to keep her crown and protect her country. I don't doubt that, as a Queen, Levana is a good one - Meyer makes her a great Queen in fact, however as a person, you just want to hate her, much like her subjects do. You fear what she can do, the power she has over others, and the lengths that she goes to simply achieve what she wants. She has horrible thoughts, and she doesn't really feel much guilt for what she has ever done, because it's allowed her to progress and become a ruler.
But, no matter what, she never gets the love that she craves, and when I remember that after reading Fairest and thinking it over, I still can't help but feel sorry for Levana, because throughout the book, it's the one thing she wants the most, and yet she never really did get it.
From her subjects, her family, the man she had loved dearly, it's the one thing Levana never got, even though she manipulated and killed to get everything else she wanted. It is sad to think about that, but still, it does not justify this characters actions, and does not make me dislike her any less. As I've said plenty already, I simply pity her.
I may have run around here a bit and repeated myself, but yeah, I did enjoy Fairest, even if it was a very light read. It allowed us to see a bit more into one more character in the Lunar Universe, and showed us how she became what she is in the present of the books. If anything, this book just makes me anticipate Winter further, and also has me hoping for a few more prequels, possibly sequels, if Meyer ever decides to write them!
Now though, I suppose I'll read the small chaptered stories on Wattpad that Meyer has for everyone to read concerning the Lunar Universe!
Until next time! Please keep Reading and Writing happily, peoples!
~ Kelly
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