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A review by beautifullybookishbethany
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
The Gilded Ones is an ambitious YA debut that verges on dark fantasy as it takes on war, violence, trauma and xenophobia from within a deeply patriarchal, oppressively religious society. This is a book I've been anticipating for a very long time and while it wasn't perfect, it was very, very good.
Deka is awaiting a ritual ceremony that will determine whether her blood is pure. If it runs red, she will become a full-fledged woman and begin covering her face. If it runs gold, she has demon blood and will be subjected to execution or joining the emperors army. (hint: it's not red)
I don't want to say too much about what happens because this is a book that really sucks you in and is quite fast paced. However, you should know that this book contains a great deal of violence and can be quite disturbing at times. Death, torture, dismemberment, sexual assault, war violence, etc. is throughout. (although most of the sexual assault occurs off page, we see a lot of the ptsd that results from it) The world is interesting, the magic is interesting, and there are great characters with strong bonds of sisterhood. It grapples with difficult subjects and explores topics including how children can be drawn into battle, the trauma and coping mechanisms we see in those exposed to such brutality, and the ways that oppressive teachings can enable violence against women and self-hatred. Thematically this is incredibly rich and does not flinch from difficult experiences.
However, I did struggle a bit with the ending. Though to be fair it's got to be tough to really nail the landing in such an ambitious project for a first time author. That said, some of the twists at the end weren't fully explained, nor were all of their ramifications adequately dealt with. Characters accepted things too easily and there weren't enough obstacles before things wrapped up in a relatively tidy bow. I don't want to get more specific than that because of spoilers, but suffice to say that most of this book was SO good, I had very high expectations of what the ending was going to do. And while the ending was fine, it was a bit of a letdown. Otherwise, this probably would have been a favorite of the year. That said, I still think this is well worth your time and Namina Forna is an author to keep an eye on! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Gilded Ones is an ambitious YA debut that verges on dark fantasy as it takes on war, violence, trauma and xenophobia from within a deeply patriarchal, oppressively religious society. This is a book I've been anticipating for a very long time and while it wasn't perfect, it was very, very good.
Deka is awaiting a ritual ceremony that will determine whether her blood is pure. If it runs red, she will become a full-fledged woman and begin covering her face. If it runs gold, she has demon blood and will be subjected to execution or joining the emperors army. (hint: it's not red)
I don't want to say too much about what happens because this is a book that really sucks you in and is quite fast paced. However, you should know that this book contains a great deal of violence and can be quite disturbing at times. Death, torture, dismemberment, sexual assault, war violence, etc. is throughout. (although most of the sexual assault occurs off page, we see a lot of the ptsd that results from it) The world is interesting, the magic is interesting, and there are great characters with strong bonds of sisterhood. It grapples with difficult subjects and explores topics including how children can be drawn into battle, the trauma and coping mechanisms we see in those exposed to such brutality, and the ways that oppressive teachings can enable violence against women and self-hatred. Thematically this is incredibly rich and does not flinch from difficult experiences.
However, I did struggle a bit with the ending. Though to be fair it's got to be tough to really nail the landing in such an ambitious project for a first time author. That said, some of the twists at the end weren't fully explained, nor were all of their ramifications adequately dealt with. Characters accepted things too easily and there weren't enough obstacles before things wrapped up in a relatively tidy bow. I don't want to get more specific than that because of spoilers, but suffice to say that most of this book was SO good, I had very high expectations of what the ending was going to do. And while the ending was fine, it was a bit of a letdown. Otherwise, this probably would have been a favorite of the year. That said, I still think this is well worth your time and Namina Forna is an author to keep an eye on! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Genocide, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual violence