You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the premise of this story, but unfortunately it fell very flat. The protagonist is not like able, and I found her growth was minuscule. The magic system doesn’t make much sense. The pacing was very clunky and time was not always clearly expressed (i.e. sometimes it seemed like a few days had passed, and then this was contradicted with a very different specified amount of time). My last point is probably nitpick-y, but this book would have been very useful to have a map for. The whole book is spent walking around following a coven, but the town names and distances were often distracting for me without having more context.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh I can hear what trad pub professionals would say about this one from here. Let me explain.
This book is written in a style that has fallen out of vogue in children’s publishing, and it’s really rare to find by an author that wasn’t writing it in the 80’s too. This book has the soul of a Tamora Pierce, Gail Carson Levine, and Robin McKinley book all rolled into one. A slightly anxious but fiercely brave girl disguising herself as someone else to follow her dream, and discovering magic, friendship, love, and her own power along the way??? Spectacular. SPECTACULAR. It also does something else I find important: it is writing an older teen (16, in this case), for a YOUNGER audience. This voice is made for the 12-14 year olds, the girls that need girls like Lorel to show them how it’s done. The fact Margaret gave us a trans girl? In this form??? I can’t scream ENOUGH about how vitally important that is. Trans preteens NEED an older girl living as herself and succeeding in their fiction as much as they do in their lives.
Also, the plot?? Is really fun and engaging?? The side characters are complex and dealing with their own stuff?? The pacing is measured and the prose is clear and active??
I think my only gripe is the pace may be marginally too slow? But that’s a tenant of the genre so I don’t even care that much.
I can’t WAIT to read the rest of these books.
This book is written in a style that has fallen out of vogue in children’s publishing, and it’s really rare to find by an author that wasn’t writing it in the 80’s too. This book has the soul of a Tamora Pierce, Gail Carson Levine, and Robin McKinley book all rolled into one. A slightly anxious but fiercely brave girl disguising herself as someone else to follow her dream, and discovering magic, friendship, love, and her own power along the way??? Spectacular. SPECTACULAR. It also does something else I find important: it is writing an older teen (16, in this case), for a YOUNGER audience. This voice is made for the 12-14 year olds, the girls that need girls like Lorel to show them how it’s done. The fact Margaret gave us a trans girl? In this form??? I can’t scream ENOUGH about how vitally important that is. Trans preteens NEED an older girl living as herself and succeeding in their fiction as much as they do in their lives.
Also, the plot?? Is really fun and engaging?? The side characters are complex and dealing with their own stuff?? The pacing is measured and the prose is clear and active??
I think my only gripe is the pace may be marginally too slow? But that’s a tenant of the genre so I don’t even care that much.
I can’t WAIT to read the rest of these books.