“If you believed that you were going to die, then you might have died from that conviction alone.”-Valek in Poison Study, by Maria V. Synder
What would you do if you were offered two choices- life or death? Most people would choose life, and at that moment, they will realize how precious and how fragile life truly is. Yelena, of Maria V. Synder’s debut novel, Poison Study, is no different. Sentenced to death for murder, Yelena is offered a preposition-to live as a food taster or to die. Yelena Is no fool, so she choose to be a food taster. She’ll live-as long as she can survive the training and avoid being poisoned. However, Valek, the head of security, deliberately poisons Yelena. She has to appear daily for her antidote, or else she will die. Will Yelena ever survive? Obstacles and dangerous situations mount, but choices are hard to make. What will Yelena do?
Poison Study is a book with an excellent plot. The language is decent, but the plot remedies it, allowing me to overlook the face. Yelena is a strong heroine, and it’s a nice change, from weak girls who need saving. Through the novel Yelena’s growth, strength acceptance and recognition of who she is progresses, and the development is interesting, as the reader is reminded of similar feelings such as falling in love, and accepting flaws. From the book, readers can learn that no matter how weak one is, there’s always room for strength. In addition, there’s always a way out of a situation no matter how impossible the situation may seem. Readers can see the strength of the human soul, and what it takes to survive.
alice-jane
