Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Title - Vessel
Author - Sarah Beth Durst
Series - None
Release Date - September 11th, 2012
Publisher - Margaret K. McElderry
Format Acquired - Hardcover

Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana's goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her. Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god's help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god's tale. The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate -- or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

What really got me to pick this book up at the library was the cover. There's a girl on the cover who's in a beautiful ensemble and the colours are in-your-face... It was made specifically so that I could stare at it and not get bored.

I was not at all disappointed with this storyline. It is different and rich with foreign beliefs and cultures that may or may not be fictional. It deals with the concept of sacrificing oneself in order to save others and dealing with the baggage that comes with knowing that you have no future because you are not expected to live very long. Goodness! While I was reading this, I couldn't help but be impressed with the actions of the characters whose purpose in life is to die so that their clans can survive the Great Drought.

Liyana, the main main character is a very cool chick in my book. She keeps her cool and her head on at all times. "Oh, I'm about to be offered up as sacrifice? That is perfectly OK... You're leaving me in the desert to die a horrible death because the ceremony didn't work and you're blaming it on me? I'll catch you guys on the flip-side." What? Are you crazy, girl? Of course she's crying on the inside a little, but her sense of self sacrifice is so great that she'll really do anything to ensure the survival of her clan. "The goddess who was suppose to invade my body while I disappear into the Dreaming forever is missing? Let's find her." Not to mention that she's really good at almost everything.

Korbyn, the trickster god, is Liyana's main companion for most of their quest to rescue the missing deities. He's a big flirt (tries to impress Liyana at every turn), and he thinks he knows everything. His magic-using (he is a god after all) comes in handy a lot. I think he's a really fun guy. Fennik, for me, is one of those people who just exists; He was interesting for like, 20 seconds, but I don't mind that he's there and I wouldn't mind if he wasn't there... I feel like such a buttface, but it's the truth xD. Pia is one of those annoying "I'm popular so look at me" girls who are just, well, annoying. e.e And I'm not entirely sure what to think about Raan because, yes she's cool too, but I feel like she has no heart sometimes.

Ultimately, what really made me like this book was the concept behind it. I even wish I was the one that came up with it. There's a lot of interesting things that takes place in the midst of the story, but to reveal one would make me reveal that, then this, and so you'd think that I might as well copy and paste the entire book onto here.

My only regret was the fact that the book wasn't longer. There could have been more details somewhere in the middle to make it longer (which is just my opinion). I pretty much didn't want it to end because I wanted more, I wanted more, and dang it I WANT MORE!

Link Out - Amazon ˚ Barnes & Noble