Review of The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor

A magical and captivating debut fantasy novel from young French author of fourteen years. Three young girls, Jade, Amber and Opal, each from very different backgrounds, discover on the day of their fourteenth birthday that they are adopted. An ancient prophecy compels them to leave their families to complete their mission in a far-off kingdom. Each girl is given custody of a magic stone which corresponds to her name. Although they dislike each other on sight, they have to overlook their differences in order to escape the dangers that threatens them. They begin a long voyage to Oonagh, the mysterious oracle who becomes their guide. Their quest will lead them into a ferocious battle against the forces of evil. Present day! In a Parisian hospital a fourteen-year-old girl is dying. Joa no longer speaks, nor fights for her life, but she dreams and her thoughts carry her into a fairy-tale world where three heroines lead an epic war. The distant promise of their victory and the end of their adventures carries with it a secret which could return to her the will to live!

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The Prophecy of the Gems is one of those books I wish I could have read when I was younger. Not because it's so awesomely fantastic I could shout about it on the roof whilst tap-dancing to some 20's sounding music but because I think I could have enjoyed it better if I did and and wouldn't have judged it as much. A big part of me enjoyed it thoroughly but another part was wanting to barf in a TARDIS-style bucket. It's basically a modern Fairytale where three girls makes a land all full of light and hope wherever they go and whilst they're at it, they're trying to fulfil a prophecy.

My favourite character was either Joa or Death. They were both pretty awesome. Joa is a character that older readers would probably 'get' more, whereas I liked Death because she was a tiny fat emo.

I could join the ranks of a couple of Goodreads reviewers who hated the book because it was childish (well, it was aimed at kids) but I could really see potential with this and considering the Author was only 12 when she started writing it (not 15 or 17 like some people think) I think that's pretty amazing considering the depth of this book when you finished reading it. The story does have a huge twist in the plot, which I loved so, so much.

The relationship between Opal and what's his face interested me. They had no connection whatsoever, just was like, Hi, I love you, I'd die for you.' <--- Literally.

4/5