A review by heyleigh05
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Legendborn was fun! There were some parts that made me roll my eyes but it had me engaged and I look forward to the next book. The parts I liked the most were when Bree was communing with her therapist Patricia and Mariah. I really liked those moments of Black women communing together and doing rootwork and conjuring. Anything with Black people connecting to their ancestry and stuff like that I eat it up so those were my favorite moments. I also liked the way that Tracy Deonn discussed grief in this novel. The way we cope with grief is different and for Bree she was almost consumed by it. Her determination to understand her mother’s death was almost obsessive and she has to learn healthy ways to process her grief. I also liked seeing Bree’s relationship with her dad. He was very supportive and encouraging and that was nice to see.

There were moments when it didn’t feel like the characters were teenagers, sometimes they seemed older. In those moments I had to remind myself oh yeah they’re 16. It’s not a big deal because I know I’m not the target audience but it’s something I noticed. Also in the beginning I wasn’t feeling Bree that much, but as we went along I started to like her more, and by the end I liked her. We just needed to warm up to each other. Another thing that made me side-eye a little was the determination to be in white spaces, which in this case was this secret society at UNC Chapel Hill. I understand that Bree was determined to figure out what happened to her mother, but in the back of my mind I was like why is she so insistent about being in this white space that doesn’t even want her? That was an interesting choice but this is also integral to the plot so I won’t harp on it too much.

Those are my general thoughts. I mostly enjoyed it, some parts more than others, but it was a fun read. I’m glad that this book is popular because we don’t get a lot of dark academia novels with Black characters, so I’m glad that this is being received so well. Legendborn’s success also shows that there is a demand for Black characters in this genre and just more Black protagonists in general.