The title of this story comes from a story retold late on in the book but which is central to the theme at the heart of this novel…that of survival. But for the Mountains focuses on the story of Arden, a young girl who has endured horrific abuse at the hands of those who should be protecting her, and how she learns to find ways to accept this element of her past and move into a new future.
While the story of survival and the character of Arden herself were engaging, I don’t feel this worked as effectively as it might have because of some of the other plot elements.
Our story is set in the fictional world of Nordania. There are many places within the country mentioned, but I never felt I really was given much to picture the world or how it came to be. We are, however, told that each year there is a group of young women who are sent to the National Institute in order to learn how to rise to their potential role within society – and, though this is never explicitly encouraged, the main aim is to secure a potential match for the Prime Minister’s son.
As a number of reviewers have commented, the competition between a group of young women to secure the hand in marriage of someone important has been done before. It is very reminiscent of The Selection – even down to the backstabbing and machinations to beat their rivals – but it was only once I got to the end of the book that I started to feel this was merely a device to allow the author to convey her message about the society, what these girls endure and how all who ‘look the other way’ are complicit in the abuse.
Arden herself is a character I found intriguing. She is broken, but by the end she is fighting and I definitely liked the way she ended the book. Her relationship with Beck was a curious one, and I’m convinced there is more to this man than meets the eye – how else could he get away with so much?
While there are elements of this book I found did not engage me, it certainly showed us a character determined not to give up, someone you want to succeed and a very real suggestion that she might do okay – in spite of the barriers placed in her way.