FLOWER AND THORN

A teenage girl in India faces a dangerous journey to recover a rare, powerful flower.

Seventeen-year-old Irinya Dewa has grown up hunting for magic flowers in the salt flats of the Rann of Kutch. When her childhood friend Fardan finds the bud of a silver spider lily, a plant not seen in decades, Irinya dreams of the possibilities. They could sell it to get their kul, or band of nomadic families, out of debt—and with its magical capabilities, the flower could turn the tide on the war with the Portuguese. Irinya initially promises not to take the flower, but an attractive man persuades her to give it to him, promising a generous financial reward. By the time she realizes she was cheated, it’s too late—the vicious baniya, or moneylenders, learn what she did, and a beloved elder from her kul is killed. Vowing to make things right, Irinya sneaks off to the capital of Ahmedabad. Tigers are the least of her worries on the dangerous journey, where she gets involved with the wazir of Gujarat and the politics of the sultanate. Using her magic flowers, her blowpipe, and carefully harvested poison thorns, Irinya tries to set things right. Mehrotra reimagines India’s history using beautiful, detailed worldbuilding and well-developed characters. The story explores family, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and love, beginning slowly but quickening in pace as the action increases.

A well-realized fantasy world full of both beauty and danger.