Medar by SR Manssen is a young adult fantasy novel in which fourteen-year-old Freya finds a mysterious tablet as she hides from brutal guards. It tells her about a beautiful land beyond the Wall, but when she mentions it to the others no one will believe her especially when she mentions the Master, the overlord of the land, as being evil. Still, when her family learns they have been selected to live in the Golden City, and have been given the opportunity to leave their hard scrabble existence behind, Freya is excited. But she never gets to see the Golden City as a misunderstanding at the gate condemns her to death by the Guards. Luckily she is rescued by an invisible Watcher and thus begins her incredible journey as she learns of her true parentage and her role in a mysterious prophecy.
I enjoyed Medar by SR Manssen. The premise felt interesting and Freya provided a fresh voice to the narrative. Manssen also dives into the heads of the other characters and manages to convey the emotional impact of Freya’s sudden absence fairly well, showing how it affects both her parents and her brother. The action is well written and paced in a way that doesn’t drag or leave the reader feeling confused as to which character did what. Medar is a fast paced read, but there is still enough mystery woven throughout so that I found myself eager to learn what would happen next. As this is the first book in the series, I’m sure fans of this author will be clamoring to learn more about Freya and her adventures.
