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Tess of the Road

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Tess of the Road

By: Rachel Hartman
Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
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About this listen

 Award-winning Rachel Hartman's newest YA is a tour de force and an exquisite fantasy for the #metoo movement.

"Tess of the Road is astonishing and perfect. It's the most compassionate book I've read since George Eliot's Middlemarch." --NPR

In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of these things. Tess is. . . different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep out of trouble. Then Tess goes too far. What she's done is so disgraceful, she can't even allow herself to think of it. Unfortunately, the past cannot be ignored. So Tess's family decide the only path for her is a nunnery.

But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away, she's running towards something. What that something is, she doesn't know. Tess just knows that the open road is a map to somewhere else--a life where she might belong.

Returning to the spellbinding world of the Southlands she created in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling novel Seraphina, Rachel Hartman explores self-reliance and redemption in this wholly original fantasy.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR * BOSTON GLOBE * The Chicago Public Library * KIRKUS REVIEWS

Four starred reviews!

"The world building is gorgeous, the creatures are vivid and Hartman is a masterful storyteller. Pick up this novel, and savor every page." --Paste Magazine Classics Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy

Critic Reviews

One of Paste Magazine’s 15 Best Fantasy Novels of 2018

PRAISE FOR Tess of the Road:

"This achingly real portrayal of a young woman whose self-loathing takes help to heal is a perceptive examination of rape culture rare in high fantasy. Not to be ignored, this is also a fascinating road trip adventure. Absolutely essential." --Starred Review, Booklist

"Like Tess' journey, surprising, rewarding, and enlightening, both a fantasy adventure and a meta discourse on consent, shame, and female empowerment." --Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

"[A] rousing adventure set in a richly drawn world. . . . Newcomers to Hartman’s work will be every bit as enthralled as her fans with this companion novel to Seraphina and Shadow Scale." --Starred Review, Bulletin
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I loved growing with Tess through her self empowerment. I cannot wait for the sequel. I had not read serephena or shadow scale but I have just purchased them and cannot wait to see how she ends up.

A little slow in the beginning but a thrilling tale non the less

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Very interesting world with the different creatures. Did not like main character though - found her very depressing. Only listened to about half the book. Performance was good.

Interesting world - struggled with liking Tess

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Perfect for slightly rebellious 13 year olds. If they're not particularly discerning. For anyone else, a lesson in his not to do it.

Drivel.

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