About the Book

Book: Sky of Seven Colors

Author: Rachelle Nelson

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: August 8, 2023

In a strange part of the forest, the divide between worlds grows thin. 

After the accident, Meg would do anything to wake her best friend from his deadly coma. At least, that’s what she whispered into the woodland shadows. She never imagined her wish would trap her in a gray other-earth, void of any color.

Meg’s vibrant humanity is a priceless artifact in the gray kingdom, coveted by the royal court. All she wants to do is find a way back home. Until she discovers the other-earth contains healing powers that can save her friend. But only if Meg becomes what the gray people need—a human bride for Kalmus, the powerful king of the capital city.

With her heart torn between earths, Meg’s choices may cost more than she knows.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Rachelle Nelson grew up reading fantasy novels and getting her clothes muddy in the pine forests of Idaho. These days, she still loves hiking through mountains and libraries, though she is a bit less fond of mud. She doesn’t write true stories, but she writes about truth. When Rachelle is not reading and writing, she sings in a band with her talented husband, who makes her happier than should be legal. If you like adventures, good food, and honest conversations, you are her favorite kind of person.

More from Rachelle

Sky of Seven Colors is a story, in part, about beauty. I wrote it for my younger self, and for all the women I love.

When I was twelve years old, the girls in my neighborhood frequently weighed themselves and ended up forming an “under-100-club”. I have no idea why the arbitrary measurement of one hundred pounds was chosen, but I do know I was the first to outgrow the standard. A fact that was made known to the neighborhood boys during a driveway basketball game.

A chant began. “One hundred, one hundred.” And I didn’t play basketball again for the rest of the summer.

At the time, I didn’t know I would soon grow to my full height of 5’9” and would always be “bigger” than the other girls. I was convinced I could never be beautiful if I was the biggest, and I desperately wanted to be beautiful. You will probably think I was vain if I tell you I prayed every night before bed that God would make me prettier.

Now, as a woman well into her thirties, I am much more comfortable with the body God gave me. I have been a youth mentor for over a decade, and while getting to know some amazing teens, I have come to appreciate that every girl wants to be beautiful.

And they are.

I’m not just saying that in the “everyone is pretty in their own way” sense. I mean it. It’s an indisputable truth.

Femininity is beautiful.

Youth in and of itself is beautiful.

And powerful. You don’t have to look far in the world to see that these things are desired, commodified, admired, sometimes cherished, and more often exploited. And every girl possesses them.

I have watched as generations of girls desperately long to be something they already are. They diet and compare and shop for anything to help them look their best. In our youth, we blindly walk out the perils and the gifts of beauty.

In my debut young adult fantasy novel, Meg travels to a colorless other-earth where she is the only human in a royal city of strange, gray people. The elites of society prize Meg’s color for its rare traits, and seek to control it, even pressing her into an ancient, binding agreement with their king.

Her color is intrinsic, like all of our bodies, not something she chose. And it is what everyone sees when they look at her. The color puts her in danger, and it is a gift she carries. But she must decide who she will be in spite of that gift, and also because of it.

Just like all girls must choose to respond to a world that sees them for their bodies.

The Bible has something profound to say about the connection between our outer and inner selves in this verse from 1st Peter:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self….”

Meg is a very flawed character and doesn’t make all the right choices along the way. (I don’t know many people in life who fully have, even if we’re trying.) But she does come to understand that being desired and being loved are two different things, a truth I want every girl in my life to grasp deeply. And if Meg’s identity comes from within, she will have to choose the path of loving others, even when it seems impossible.

Especially then.

MY REVIEW

The opening pages set the stage for a step into a world where there is no color. I’m going to date myself here by saying I remember watching black and white television. It was fun but when we finally got a color television, it seemed like the world of beauty opened up to me. When Meg finds herself in this strange place without color, she kinda wishes she could take back what she said. She whispered in the woods where her friend was injured, “I will do anything,” if he is saved. Now what has she gotten herself into. The woods are different when she came the first time. Who does she hear whispering around her? 

Meg is trapped between Earth and another place that  is near to Earth. These creatures she has come in contact with have a mission for her. She is to travel with them to marry their king in order for them to achieve what they need. The world seems nice but is there danger waiting for Meg? Will she do as they ask and in return her friend who lays in a hospital bed in a coma? Are they telling her the  truth or tricking her into staying in this world where no color exists? 

I like how the author incorporates symbolic symbols like the number seven n the book. When Meg is ready to heat the king she is given seven ornaments. The number  represents wholeness .  How was the time for Meg’s real adventure begin. The journey is easy since she is being carried. She is suffering from some illness but is assured she will be healed. I loved this sentence from the book; “there is power in a name.” Oh how I know the name that is most powerful of all. 

It is interesting that in the  world Neg has been pulled into, that there is murmurs of jealousy and distaste for others. Sone consider the Croppers are clumsy, dirty and loud. How sad that this world is just like Earth. Meg starts to wonder if the king  will stick to his word. I felt a little uneasy as Meg is placed on display as the king welcomes her to his place where he conducts business. The interaction between Neg and the king are filled with tension. There is where I began to worry that Meg was being deceived and should not trust the king. 

 Meg is only interested in getting her friend healed and is so occupied with that , she  misses some  vital hints that all is not what it seems. It was weird that no one could heal Meg but needed constant rest and attention. She is losing herself in this world slowly and she knows that something is not right. The author draws readers in with the mystery of what will happen to Meg. I had to read faster so I could find out for myself how the book would end. 

Be prepared for some suspense as the story heats up and Meg realizes that  the king is hungry for power. His promises are empty ones as he tries to force Meg to do things she know is not right.  Meg will soon learn that a , “king’s purpose isn’t to be great. It’s to serve the people.”  The best lesson I took away from this story was the sacrifice someone made to save another. Without hesitation healing that person was the most important task and whatever it cost was worth it.

“Broken things can be turned into something new.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. 

Blog Stops

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, August 17

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 18

Texas Book-aholic, August 19

Through the Fire Blogs, August 20 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, August 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 21

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 22

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, August 23

The Book Club Network, August 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 25

Blogging With Carol, August 26

Labor Not in Vain, August 27

Simple Harvest Reads, August 28 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Beauty in the Binding, August 29 (Author Interview)

Raining Butterfly Kisses, August 29

Of Blades and Thorns, August 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachelle is giving away the grand prize package of a hardback copy of Sky of Seven Colors, a $50 Amazon gift card, a signed bookplate, a set of 3 bookish themed waterproof stickers, and a bookmark with exclusive Sky of Seven Colors character art!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2716b/sky-of-seven-colors-celebration-tour-giveaway