Wow.
Religious/Spiritual, emotional, diverse, action-packed, and a strong heroine. Usually these components don't exist all together in one book--at least not successfully. But Carson't book manages, in a hefty 400+ page story, to combine all these elements and more. Elisa is the. first. "overweight" heroine I have ever read in a fantasy. Yes, along the way she changes both mentally, emotionally, and physically, the start of the book is a representation of an overeater's lifestyle, including medicating oneself with food. Yet Elisa overcomes her need to feed her boredom, her insecurity, her sadness as she discovers her higher purposes and finds her role in the kingdom where her special mark--the Godstone in her belly--is coveted by some, and feared and revered by others. Friendships and relationships are developed and the characters are likable and I really appreciated this entire book. Really well-written, and different from anything I have read. 