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michellehogmire's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to BookSirens for an advance copy of Justine Manzano's YA novel The Order of the Key in exchange for an honest review (and happy pub date, which was yesterday July 9, 2020 from Black Rose Publishing)--
Jacklyn "Jacks" Madison feels like she doesn't fit in at her high school: she's an athletic runner as well as a comic book geek, raised in The Bronx. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, she starts seeing monsters.
Turns out Jacklyn's family (her mom Jaina, her younger sister Gana, and her absent dad Raymond) are members of The Order of the Key: a secret army that trains soldiers to fight inter-dimensional creatures. There are two types of soldiers--Keys, who possess multifaceted special powers (called an "aegis") and lesser-powered Guardians, who protect Keys. Jacklyn and her family are rushed out of the city, by a young Key named Kyp Franklin and his Guardian Cass, and brought to The Order's headquarters, run by Kyp's mom Lavinia. Here, Jacklyn trains as a Key--learning how to fight and harness her aegis's body-related powers, and uncovering crucial information about The Order's history and her family's past connections with the Franklin family. Along the way, she realizes that the biggest danger to The Order is coming from inside the headquarter walls. Jacklyn and her allies must figure out how to stage a dangerous rebellion before more people get hurt.
The Order of the Key is a fun, fast-read young adult adventure with complex characters and plenty of excellent commentary about oppression and the importance of questioning authority within established systems. Jacklyn is a fierce and quick-witted strong female lead, but I struggled a bit with Kyp's role as her romantic partner. Subterfuge and lies deemed necessary for Jacklyn's protection allow Kyp to get away with some toxic relationship behaviors, which makes him difficult to like. The ending of this book does feel a little rushed, but overall this is an enjoyable novel with a solid cliffhanger setup for a sequel.
Jacklyn "Jacks" Madison feels like she doesn't fit in at her high school: she's an athletic runner as well as a comic book geek, raised in The Bronx. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, she starts seeing monsters.
Turns out Jacklyn's family (her mom Jaina, her younger sister Gana, and her absent dad Raymond) are members of The Order of the Key: a secret army that trains soldiers to fight inter-dimensional creatures. There are two types of soldiers--Keys, who possess multifaceted special powers (called an "aegis") and lesser-powered Guardians, who protect Keys. Jacklyn and her family are rushed out of the city, by a young Key named Kyp Franklin and his Guardian Cass, and brought to The Order's headquarters, run by Kyp's mom Lavinia. Here, Jacklyn trains as a Key--learning how to fight and harness her aegis's body-related powers, and uncovering crucial information about The Order's history and her family's past connections with the Franklin family. Along the way, she realizes that the biggest danger to The Order is coming from inside the headquarter walls. Jacklyn and her allies must figure out how to stage a dangerous rebellion before more people get hurt.
The Order of the Key is a fun, fast-read young adult adventure with complex characters and plenty of excellent commentary about oppression and the importance of questioning authority within established systems. Jacklyn is a fierce and quick-witted strong female lead, but I struggled a bit with Kyp's role as her romantic partner. Subterfuge and lies deemed necessary for Jacklyn's protection allow Kyp to get away with some toxic relationship behaviors, which makes him difficult to like. The ending of this book does feel a little rushed, but overall this is an enjoyable novel with a solid cliffhanger setup for a sequel.
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