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A review by carlyoc
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
Note: I do NOT recommend the audiobook for this work because every chapter ends with a captioned historic photograph and I felt like I was really missing out by not seeing them. Some audiobook platforms might provide a pdf of the images but mine did not and I couldn't find it online.
Another amazing fantasy alternative history by Justina Ireland. The premise: what if the great depression was caused not by a stock market crash, but by the clash between science and magic. In Rust in the Root, the Prohibition refers to a ban on unlicensed magic rather than alcohol. Many of the unlicensed mages are Black people practicing the root work and folk magic of their ancestors. Laura is one such mage, who dreams of revealing up decadent desserts for celebrities with the okra and jacaranda seeds that she transforms into magical workings. Unfortunately, her only path to a license is to work for the government to help fix the blight (aka the 1930s dust bowl) caused by magical imbalance in the world. But the real cause of the blights is more sinister than she has been told.
I particularly appreciated the allusions to the poem/song "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol and famously performed by the likes of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, whose imagery was creatively re-interpreted in the climax of the book.
Another amazing fantasy alternative history by Justina Ireland. The premise: what if the great depression was caused not by a stock market crash, but by the clash between science and magic. In Rust in the Root, the Prohibition refers to a ban on unlicensed magic rather than alcohol. Many of the unlicensed mages are Black people practicing the root work and folk magic of their ancestors. Laura is one such mage, who dreams of revealing up decadent desserts for celebrities with the okra and jacaranda seeds that she transforms into magical workings. Unfortunately, her only path to a license is to work for the government to help fix the blight (aka the 1930s dust bowl) caused by magical imbalance in the world. But the real cause of the blights is more sinister than she has been told.
I particularly appreciated the allusions to the poem/song "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol and famously performed by the likes of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, whose imagery was creatively re-interpreted in the climax of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, and Racial slurs