Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Romance / Folk Lore
Description: Squid Games meets Peter Pan with folktales from Thailand in this contemporary thriller with a fantasy twist, featuring a Thai heroine and hero.
Seventeen-year-old Alaia knows one thing for sure: her mama is going
to die. She and her family are on vacation in Thailand, the last chance
for Mama to find peace before she succumbs to cancer.
Alaia’s
final holiday with her mama is interrupted when she’s forced to evacuate
a snorkeling cruise. Floating away to safety, Ali watches the boat
explode with her father still onboard. Ali passes out on the lifeboat
and wakes up on an island. Although beautiful, the fruit on the island
is poisonous, no fish swim in the waters, and the lifeboat is gone. She,
Mama, and the survivors are all trapped. The survivors journey across
the island in search of food, finding a cave with a maze, swirling red
waters, crocodiles, and a magic crystal. To save himself from falling to
his death, a young boy manifests the arms of a gibbon.
Xander,
the boat’s captain, announces that they have all been brought here for a
purpose. The island has been outfitted with horrific games and they
must participate in them to win rewards that will aid in their survival.
With no food, water, or shelter, Alaia has no choice but to win the
games to keep Mama alive.
As the survivors compete in the games
and are pushed to their emotional limits, their abilities manifest. With
the handsome and enigmatic Bodin by her side, Alaia must access her
latent power. Her ability is rare, mind-blowing, and downright
terrifying — but it just might save them all.
The Lotus Flower Champion is a story written by the mother daughter duo of Pintip and Love Dunn. It is being marketed as Squid Games meets Peter Pan with folktales from Thailand in this contemporary thriller with a fantasy twist, featuring a Thai heroine. Seventeen-year-old Alaia knows one thing for sure: her mama is going
to die of cancer and there's nothing she can do to stop time. She and her family are on vacation in Thailand, the last chance
for Mama to find peace before she succumbs to cancer. Alaia has a goal of making her smile 121 times.
Alaia's final holiday with her mama and father is interrupted when she’s forced to evacuate
a snorkeling cruise due to an explosion. Floating away to safety, Ali watches the boat
explode with her father still onboard after he stayed to help a woman in labor. Ali drinks water and passes out on the lifeboat. She wakes up on an island with 11 others. Although beautiful, the fruit on the island
is poisonous, no fish swim in the waters, and the lifeboat is gone. She,
Mama, and the survivors are all trapped.
The survivors journey across the island in search of food, finding a cave with a maze, swirling red waters, crocodiles, and a magic crystal. To save himself from falling to his death, a young boy manifests into a crocodile. Xander, the boat’s captain and mad scientist who reminds me of Dr. Moreau, announces that they have all been brought here for a purpose. The island has been outfitted with horrific games and they must participate in them to win rewards that will aid in their survival. With no food, water, or shelter, Alaia has no choice but to win the games to keep Mama alive.
The survivors must manifest their abilities or everyone dies. As the survivors compete in the games and are pushed to their emotional limits, their abilities manifest. With each passing day, Alaia seems to be the only one who hasn't manifested any sort of latent power. With the dangerous scientist looking for the fabled Lotus Flower Champion who is said to be able to bring back the dead, as well as other powerful abilities, it seems as though it will take a miracle for her to survive and save herself and her Mama.
*Thoughts* This story is told using Thai folklore in which key characters discover that they are somehow linked to past glory and it is up to each of them, including Alaia, (not Alisara) to manifest before they are all killed by Xander. In many ways, the story is predictable since we all know that Alaia is the Mary Sue of the book and that she will find a way to manifest no matter what. The romance between Alaia and Bodin was cheesy to say the least. No matter how many times Bodin breaks her heart, or betrays her, they always seem to come back to each other. Also, I am not a fan of how this book ends. You struggle for days to get this great power, and then? (NO SPOILERS!) In many ways, I liked the fact that the co-authors used Alaia to be one with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's a really thing, and many people look down on people who have this condition.
PS- The spelling of the characters name is not Alisara but Alaia. The date of release for this edition is October 31, 2023, not October 3, 2023 which should be edited on Goodreads and other places.
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