Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Starred Review Liyana is a vessel, the chosen one, nurtured, trained, and offered up by her clan for a great honor: giving her life so their goddess, Bayla, may return to earth to inhabit her body. But the goddess does not return. At the end of her day of sacrifice, Liyana is still alive, her clan having left her alone, disgraced, and in grave danger in the desert. Vessel is the read-alike for your Hunger Games obsessed teens. From the quest to find the other clans' spurned vessels, to the two attractive love interests, to the intelligent, independent young heroine, this folkloric fantasy, while harkening to that ever-popular novel and movie, is unique in its own web of clever, complex characters and attention-absorbing adventure. Its setting alone is so vital that it becomes another character, a part of the action. Readers will feel the desert heat, the earth-numbing droughts, the vicious sandstorms and resulting sandwolves, and the bizarre sensations of a goddess living within the body of its human vessel. Brilliantly riveting, Vessel's only disappointment is its single volume, a fate that relegates Liyana, her lovers, and her friends to their own vessel, a single book.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

When a summoning goes awry, Liyana must try to save her people and learn how to live for herself, in this sweeping adventure. Chosen as a "vessel" to host the Goat Clan's goddess, Bayla, and abandoned when Bayla doesn't come, Liyana finds herself alone in the desert. Korbyn, god of the Raven Clan, rescues Liyana and provides her with a purpose: find the four other vessels who are also missing deities. Soon, Liyana and Korbyn pick up stalwart Fennik (horse god Sendar), princess-y Pia (silk goddess Oyri) and angry Raan (scorpion goddess Maara). Besides the desert's many dangers, the ragtag group faces the massed army of the Crescent Empire, led by a young Emperor and his malicious magician, Mulaf. The tribes need their gods to save them from illness, starvation and drought, but the gods need to possess vessels to work magic--an arrangement whose logic several characters begin to question. Liyana is self-sacrificing but not a saint; stubborn, loyal, and curious, she finds new reasons to live even as she faces death. Durst offers a meditation on leadership and power and a vivid story set outside the typical Western European fantasy milieu. From the gripping first line, a fast-paced, thought-provoking and stirring story of sacrifice. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Raised as the human "vessel" for a goddess to inhabit, Liyana is exiled by her clan when the possession fails. She and three other empty vessels, accompanied by embodied god Korbyn, rush to find their missing deities. A strong, multifaceted heroine, Liyana taps into her own magical abilities and considerable courage to save her people from environmental, supernatural, and imperial threats in this fresh fantasy.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

When a summoning goes awry, Liyana must try to save her people and learn how to live for herself, in this sweeping adventure. Chosen as a "vessel" to host the Goat Clan's goddess, Bayla, and abandoned when Bayla doesn't come, Liyana finds herself alone in the desert. Korbyn, god of the Raven Clan, rescues Liyana and provides her with a purpose: find the four other vessels who are also missing deities. Soon, Liyana and Korbyn pick up stalwart Fennik (horse god Sendar), princess-y Pia (silk goddess Oyri) and angry Raan (scorpion goddess Maara). Besides the desert's many dangers, the ragtag group faces the massed army of the Crescent Empire, led by a young Emperor and his malicious magician, Mulaf. The tribes need their gods to save them from illness, starvation and drought, but the gods need to possess vessels to work magic--an arrangement whose logic several characters begin to question. Liyana is self-sacrificing but not a saint; stubborn, loyal, and curious, she finds new reasons to live even as she faces death. Durst offers a meditation on leadership and power and a vivid story set outside the typical Western European fantasy milieu. From the gripping first line, a fast-paced, thought-provoking and stirring story of sacrifice. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this powerful and melancholy fantasy, Liyana, a child of the desert, does not rebel against her fate as a vessel-a human whose mind is destined to die so that a goddess may occupy her body. Though Liyana is obedient, and her ritual performance is flawless, the goddess does not come, and her nomadic clan abandons her as unworthy. Unsure whether to try to live, she is still crouched at the empty campsite when a handsome, unearthly boy steps out of the sands. Korbyn claims to be one of the manifested gods and says that five of his kindred have been trapped, their rightful vessels left empty. He asks Liyana to help him gather the other vessels and right the wrong. Though this means death for her, Liyana remains dutiful and joins his quest. With strong folklore elements, a striking setting, and thoroughly imagined characters, Durst (Drink Slay Love) has woven a story that does not shy from the bawdy, violent, or pragmatic realities of life. Ages 12-up. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Inc. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2012)

Gr 8 Up-Once each century, the desert deities inhabit the bodies of human vessels, bringing health and prosperity to their tribes. Liyana has trained all her life for this honor. But when she fails to summon her goddess, her tribe abandons her lest she bring them misfortune. She is rescued by trickster god Korbyn, who informs her that five gods are missing. Joined by three other vessels, Liyana and Korbyn set out to rescue them from an ambitious emperor who hopes to use the captive deities to gain control over the desert and its people. To do so, Liyana must defy taboo by learning magic. She must also confront the emperor himself if she hopes to save her friends, her people, and her gods from an uncertain fate. But can she do so without sacrificing herself? Durst has crafted a unique fantasy world populated with dangerous creatures and strong characters and woven together with magic. Liyana's inner struggle between upholding tradition and her own desire to live is obvious throughout. However, the third-person narrative gives her plight a somewhat detached feel. Additionally, the plot moves slowly at times. Nevertheless, the story is solid and will appeal to fans of romantic fantasy. Alissa J. Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI