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deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Legendborn was everything I could ask for in a YA low fantasy novel — a top-notch magic system, lots of layers, a strong central mystery, and swoony characters. I loved it.
For you if: You want to get absorbed into a gripping new adventure.
FULL REVIEW:
“From buried lives to beaten ones. From blood stolen to blood hidden. I map this terrain's sins, the invisible, and the many, and hold them close. Because even if the pain of those sins takes my breath away, the pain feels like belonging. And ignoring it, after all I've just witnessed, would be loss.”
Legendborn is one of those books where so many people loved when it first came out, I just KNEW I was going to regret having waited so long to finally pick it up. And yet I did wait. And here we are. Because yes, this book is as good as it’s hyped up to be.
It’s about a 16-year-old girl named Bree who enrolls at UNC Chapel Hill for their Early College program shortly after her mother died in a car accident. But from her first night on campus, she finds herself increasingly tangled in a secret society dating back to the time of King Arthur, although of course nothing is quite as it seems. At the same time, she begins to learn more about her mother, and her own family legacy, and how colonialism, violence, and ancestry connect them in surprising ways. And, of course there’s a boy. Maybe two boys.
This book is just so, so well written. The magic system is voluptuously imagined, and the worldbuilding is perfectly paced. The central mystery is compelling and layered and gets more and more intriguing the more you read. Bree’s grief over her mother’s death is nuanced and massive and heartbreaking. And the main characters! The relationships between them! Just so good.
And then on top of all that, Deonn tips this book from “really good” into “great” with the way she weaves in so much heart and wisdom and history and grief on the ongoing legacy of enslavement in the South, what it’s like to be a Black woman in a world built by and for enslavers, and how it feels to take up the mantle of strength and resistance that one’s ancestors were forced to build.
Brb, preordering book two (out in November).
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, and Transphobia
kat_mayerovitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
On to the stuff that DID interest me: a fresh take on the King Arthur legends that address some of the problematic aspects of it. Teens dealing with incredibly realistic problems while also managing magical ones. Characters jumping to logical but incorrect conclusions and admitting it when they learn better. The fact that magic, like anything else, would undoubtedly be divided by race and class just like everything else in the world.
Pretty psyched to read the sequel, I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Rape and Transphobia
starccato's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Car accident, Classism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, War, and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Child abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Rape, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Abandonment, Child death, and Torture
Minor: Religious bigotry and Transphobia
luckykosmos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Slavery and Rape
Minor: Transphobia
moony78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
perseffable's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, War, Violence, Slavery, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Car accident
alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Vomit, and War
prickly_plant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Gore, and Death
Minor: Transphobia
softselkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Transphobia, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Rape and Sexual harassment
coolbeancat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Cursing, Vomit, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Transphobia, Sexism, and Pregnancy