A slow but satisfying read with impressive depth and emotion.
A peasant girl transplanted to the royal court repeatedly confronts death in her new life as executioner, entertainer and bride.
Raised as the Sin Eater’s daughter and apprentice, Twylla expected to deal with the deceased by eating food symbolizing their sins (to free their souls) and to grow morose and morbidly obese like her mother. But four years ago, she came to the court of Lormere and became Daunen Embodied—the king and queen are the other divine representatives—only to find herself delivering death instead of salvation. Petrified that Lormere will become like Tregellan (a science-minded democracy) or Tallith (abandoned for 500 years), mad queen Helewys controls the court through fear and religion (and even darker means). Twylla is literally untouchable—her skin seemingly made poisonous through a mystical ritual and mysterious potion. She misses her sister and still mourns her dead friend, but she nevertheless longs for companionship. Accordingly, two men vie for her affection: her new, Tregellian guard, Lief, who encourages her to question her faith, and her betrothed, Prince Merek, who pushes for political upheaval. Torn between the boys and her beliefs, Twylla suffers identity crises, court conspiracies and cruel revelations before being able to redefine herself. Through Twylla’s deliberate, present-tense narration, Salisbury weaves a complex tale of romance, religion, fairy tales and politics.
A slow but satisfying read with impressive depth and emotion. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-81062-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Unflinching, bloodstained magic.
In this dark fantasy woven together from reimagined fairy tales, a werebear princess and her cruel twin brother vie for inheritance of their father’s crown.
Once upon a time, a story unfolds after a farmer lies to a king, saying that his daughter can spin grass into gold. In this kingdom, the first-born—always a boy—inherits. But when the common-born queen gives birth to twins, first a werebear girl, then a human boy, no one can agree who has the right of succession. Princess Ursula believes in her claim to the throne: Under her benevolent rule, she’d overturn unjust laws that oppress other werefolk. Full of contempt for his sister, Albrecht, the vicious, vain prince, plots his own ascent, no matter the cost. With precise, and poetic prose, Brockenbrough twists and intertwines familiar tales—“Hansel and Gretel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” and “Goldilocks,” among others—to craft an intricate, cohesive narrative framed as a story within a story. Ursula and Albrecht are White; the ensemble cast of primary characters includes two brown-skinned women, one of whom has a fraught emotional relationship with the princess. Injustice, misinformation, and consent are significant themes. While at times the depictions of violence (including sexual assault) are visceral and brutal, this stand-alone journey into grim woodlands arrives at a subversive resolution more satisfying than a traditional happily-ever-after.
Unflinching, bloodstained magic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-67387-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
A bold and bloody series opener.
Dark academia meets deadly magic competition in this thrilling fantasy romp that centers on complex Black Canadian characters.
Seventeen-year-old August Black is lost and lonely, especially now that her brother, Jules, is away at Kingston, Ontario’s Queen’s University. Their father, who has Trinidadian roots, has been working long hours, largely absent following their mother’s sudden disappearance. Depressed, August drinks and isolates herself. But after Jules goes missing too, leaving behind an alarming note (“Monsters are real”), August becomes determined to find him. She accepts an invitation from “hot librarian jock hybrid” Virgil Hawthorne, who witnesses her impressive knife-throwing skills, to join the secretive Learners’ Society, which offers her the opportunity to find answers about Jules. Its mission is to bond with and control people who have mutations that turn them into monsters. They’ll compete in a cutthroat monster-bonding competition that’s Virgil’s last chance to bond before transforming irrevocably into a monster and being locked away forever. August is a sympathetically flawed protagonist, whose journey from directionless loner to empowered champion is well-developed and compelling. As an outsider to the Learners’ Society, her perspective offers an accessible way for readers to learn the worldbuilding lore. Through the metaphor of monsters, Sambury explores salient questions about belonging, justice, mass incarceration, the line between revolution and terrorism, and racism and systemic inequality. The supporting cast is racially diverse.
A bold and bloody series opener. (author’s note, content warning, map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781665957366
Page Count: 592
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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