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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
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.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting viewpoint from a trans character - with magic mixed in, but did not resonate for me. The audio did not work for me. DNF
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Sapling Cage is a book I very nearly gave up on. In fact, I consigned it to the DNF pile within a few chapters of starting it, but I hated the thought of allowing the tale of a transgender witch to fall slip through my hands, so I gave it a second chance. It was still an awkward, abrupt beginning that reeks of plot convenience, and I still struggled with some of the early chapters, but at some point, Margaret Killjoy found her footing and her voice, and I was swept up in the tale.
This is the story of Lorel, a young transwoman who takes her best friend's place with a coven of witches, just as determined to be accepted as a witch as a woman. In many ways - at least thematically - this is a story of gender as well. Sometimes it's subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, but gender, gender roles, and gender expectations are important to the story. We're in a very medieval-like fantasy world, but for all that the witches are gender exclusive, the knights are gender inclusive, and while same-sex and polyamorous relationships still have their naysayers, as a whole the society is largely tolerant. Lorel spends much of the book fearing discovery and rejection but, without getting into spoilers, this is not a story of biology.
As for the story itself, we're presented with a world in which a magical blight is killing trees, monsters of old are roaming the land, and children and travelers keep turning up dead - and, of course, the witches are blamed for it. There's a political aspect to the story as well, with a Duchess looking to consolidate power, pitting knights against renegade knights and witches, but that felt a little underdeveloped for me. It was magic that propelled the story forward, with a new kind of magic - one that comes at a cost - playing a significant role in the wider conflict.
For all of that, though, Lorel and her sister whelps - witches in training - never get to actually cast a spell throughout the book. They learn to see the ley lines, to recognize where power resides, but not how to tap into it. Instead, their growth is more about working together, recognizing their own inner strengths, and outwitting their opponents. Of course, this being a book with strong YA vibes, they save the day more than once, undermining and overriding the witches around them. It's preposterous and frustrating, but one of those tropes you just have to accept.
For Lorel's sake alone, I'm glad I gave The Sapling Cage a second chance because I think Killjoy did a superb job of exploring a transgender heroine, acknowledging her physical challenges, and confronting her inevitable outing, but never losing sight of her as a young woman. The story started to come together about halfway through as well, and by the time we were hit with the twists and reveals in final arc, I was invested enough to feel the same sense of shock and betrayal as Lorel and her sisters. Maybe not the great read I always hope for when transgender characters are involved, but definitely a good read.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/11/18/finding-my-way-with-the-sapling-cage-by-margaret-killjoy/
This is the story of Lorel, a young transwoman who takes her best friend's place with a coven of witches, just as determined to be accepted as a witch as a woman. In many ways - at least thematically - this is a story of gender as well. Sometimes it's subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, but gender, gender roles, and gender expectations are important to the story. We're in a very medieval-like fantasy world, but for all that the witches are gender exclusive, the knights are gender inclusive, and while same-sex and polyamorous relationships still have their naysayers, as a whole the society is largely tolerant. Lorel spends much of the book fearing discovery and rejection but, without getting into spoilers, this is not a story of biology.
As for the story itself, we're presented with a world in which a magical blight is killing trees, monsters of old are roaming the land, and children and travelers keep turning up dead - and, of course, the witches are blamed for it. There's a political aspect to the story as well, with a Duchess looking to consolidate power, pitting knights against renegade knights and witches, but that felt a little underdeveloped for me. It was magic that propelled the story forward, with a new kind of magic - one that comes at a cost - playing a significant role in the wider conflict.
For all of that, though, Lorel and her sister whelps - witches in training - never get to actually cast a spell throughout the book. They learn to see the ley lines, to recognize where power resides, but not how to tap into it. Instead, their growth is more about working together, recognizing their own inner strengths, and outwitting their opponents. Of course, this being a book with strong YA vibes, they save the day more than once, undermining and overriding the witches around them. It's preposterous and frustrating, but one of those tropes you just have to accept.
For Lorel's sake alone, I'm glad I gave The Sapling Cage a second chance because I think Killjoy did a superb job of exploring a transgender heroine, acknowledging her physical challenges, and confronting her inevitable outing, but never losing sight of her as a young woman. The story started to come together about halfway through as well, and by the time we were hit with the twists and reveals in final arc, I was invested enough to feel the same sense of shock and betrayal as Lorel and her sisters. Maybe not the great read I always hope for when transgender characters are involved, but definitely a good read.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/11/18/finding-my-way-with-the-sapling-cage-by-margaret-killjoy/
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book. I found the pacing early on a little slow, but enjoyed the world building and the relationship dynamics of the whelps. I found Lorel's struggles/confusion around her gender identity and expression to be very relatable, and while they were always there in her thoughts, they did not overtake other themes on the book.
I love this for trans representation.
I love this for trans representation.
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
I’ll definitely need to come back to this again! Sweet and teenaged and lots of lore but also fast paced and I’m not sure I kept up with everything that was happening.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes