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abooknomad 's review for:
Legendborn
by Tracy Deonn
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
This is the standard I’ll now hold YA fantasy to.
Legendborn was an incredible, carefully crafted, and intricate urban/contemporary YA fantasy where present-day North Carolina meets medieval King Arthur Legend when our heroine Bree, still rattled by her mother’s death, starts Early College only to be engulfed into a magical and demoniac world.
In my opinion, the hype is real and deserved!
Before reading this book, I knew very little, if nothing at all (besides the famous sword) about Arthurian legend. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me time to get used to terms like “vassal” and “squire” being used in a modern-day setting, but oh boy, did Tracy Deonn interwove old and new, traditional and modernity in such a compelling way: from the way she used the legend to create an intricate world, to the incredible magic system that is very reminiscent of The Mortal Instruments but still singular in terms of its rules, costs, and high stakes.
Add to that a second and even more fascinating magic system inspired by African American history and spiritual tradition, and my inner fantasy fangirl was giddy with happiness.
This is one of those fantasies that is much more than just that. It's a portrayal of a healing journey through personal and collective grief. The commentary on U.S. history, its treatment of black people, racism, and the repercussions of generational trauma in forging our character and that of our predecessors were part of the story in a way that felt natural and never pushy or preachy. Everything fit together like a puzzle.
The diversity in this book, be it in terms of culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity gave me life. And again, the way Tracy Deonn wrote these characters, as merely human beings existing and getting on with their lives and fighting wayward demons without making it a big deal felt natural.
And what an incredible cast of characters! This is YA and the characters act their age, but never in a way that made me roll my eyes. Their motives are clear, and each character is lovable in their own way. Bree is an incredible protagonist, and it fills me with joy that she has become a symbol of strength and perseverance for teenage black girls and black women like me who didn’t have a Bree growing up.
I have one complaint though: how incredibly fast-paced this book felt at times, to the point where, at least in the beginning, the story didn't feel like it was happening organically, it felt forced, and too many plot conveniences were used to push the story forward and for the sake of introducing the reader to the world asap. The romance was another thing that happened too quickly for me. All this was jarring enough that it took me some time to feel fully engaged with the story, but once I did... this book simply became unputdownable. The ending is completely bonkers (in the best plot-twisty way possible).
I can’t believe this was a debut fantasy novel, I’m blown away. And I can’t wait to read Bloodmarked!
Legendborn was an incredible, carefully crafted, and intricate urban/contemporary YA fantasy where present-day North Carolina meets medieval King Arthur Legend when our heroine Bree, still rattled by her mother’s death, starts Early College only to be engulfed into a magical and demoniac world.
In my opinion, the hype is real and deserved!
Before reading this book, I knew very little, if nothing at all (besides the famous sword) about Arthurian legend. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me time to get used to terms like “vassal” and “squire” being used in a modern-day setting, but oh boy, did Tracy Deonn interwove old and new, traditional and modernity in such a compelling way: from the way she used the legend to create an intricate world, to the incredible magic system that is very reminiscent of The Mortal Instruments but still singular in terms of its rules, costs, and high stakes.
Add to that a second and even more fascinating magic system inspired by African American history and spiritual tradition, and my inner fantasy fangirl was giddy with happiness.
This is one of those fantasies that is much more than just that. It's a portrayal of a healing journey through personal and collective grief. The commentary on U.S. history, its treatment of black people, racism, and the repercussions of generational trauma in forging our character and that of our predecessors were part of the story in a way that felt natural and never pushy or preachy. Everything fit together like a puzzle.
The diversity in this book, be it in terms of culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity gave me life. And again, the way Tracy Deonn wrote these characters, as merely human beings existing and getting on with their lives and fighting wayward demons without making it a big deal felt natural.
And what an incredible cast of characters! This is YA and the characters act their age, but never in a way that made me roll my eyes. Their motives are clear, and each character is lovable in their own way. Bree is an incredible protagonist, and it fills me with joy that she has become a symbol of strength and perseverance for teenage black girls and black women like me who didn’t have a Bree growing up.
I have one complaint though: how incredibly fast-paced this book felt at times, to the point where, at least in the beginning, the story didn't feel like it was happening organically, it felt forced, and too many plot conveniences were used to push the story forward and for the sake of introducing the reader to the world asap. The romance was another thing that happened too quickly for me. All this was jarring enough that it took me some time to feel fully engaged with the story, but once I did... this book simply became unputdownable. The ending is completely bonkers (in the best plot-twisty way possible).
I can’t believe this was a debut fantasy novel, I’m blown away. And I can’t wait to read Bloodmarked!