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A review by _ckarys
Little Black Bird by Anna Kirchner
4.0
My queer reading list took an unexpected turn this June, but sometimes the saying “quality is better than quantity” is true, and I’m glad my quality ended up being LITTLE BLACK BIRD. Why? Because it’s fantasy, it’s queer and it’s different.
LITTLE BLACK BIRD is a pearl of magical realism. The story is set in a modern-day Poland and stars Wictoria, a teenage girl with magical abilities she struggles to control trying to live a normal life…until she can’t. Wiktoria finds herself wrapped up in a story that’s much bigger and more complicated than she realizes, with a curse that is closely tied to her magic and that forces her to dig up the secrets of her upbringing.
The characters were definitely my favorite part of the book. Wiktoria herself was a breath of fresh air, veering away from the traditional YA protagonist that is either too perfect or too whiny. Her personality was a very relatable in between. The discoveries and situations she finds herself in called for moments of panic, but the rationality and intelligence with which she faced them made perfect sense. This isn’t a character that gladly walks into danger or makes stupidly brave decisions, and I very much enjoyed this about her, as well as her snarky personality and the frequent references she made to pop-culture.
Wiktoria could count on the support of an amazing cast of characters, among which the shining star was definitely Artur. As far as book boyfriends go, Artur has all the elements to make me swoon: he’s handsome, he’s funny, he’s protective and he’s respectful. I love the way the author built up the relationship between Wiktoria and Artur and how she very originally utilized one of my absolute favorite romance tropes, which I won’t spill because I don’t want to spoil. Is there a ship in the air? Certainly yes, but it’s a very different ship than what I’m used to, which leads me to the topic of queerness.
In many queer books I’ve read before, the characters are already quite certain of their identity and quite confident with it. This was not the case with the characters of Little Black Bird. Though there are some characters who wear their identity with pride, many—including Wiki—are still questioning and exploring. Something I really enjoyed was the asexual representation, which has opened a world to me and made me eager to explore more reads with this kind of rep.
Other elements I enjoyed were the Slavic mythology, the multifaceted aspects of magic and the gray morality of all characters involved. The line between heroes and villains is very blurred, and I’m counting on the future books to help me understand whom I can and cannot trust. My one “issue” was that sometimes I felt a bit aggravated by the refusal of some of the characters to provide clear answers, and while it did add to the mystery, it felt a bit stalling to the pace for my tastes. Still the book flowed really well for the most part and I am eagerly waiting for the next book!
LITTLE BLACK BIRD is a pearl of magical realism. The story is set in a modern-day Poland and stars Wictoria, a teenage girl with magical abilities she struggles to control trying to live a normal life…until she can’t. Wiktoria finds herself wrapped up in a story that’s much bigger and more complicated than she realizes, with a curse that is closely tied to her magic and that forces her to dig up the secrets of her upbringing.
The characters were definitely my favorite part of the book. Wiktoria herself was a breath of fresh air, veering away from the traditional YA protagonist that is either too perfect or too whiny. Her personality was a very relatable in between. The discoveries and situations she finds herself in called for moments of panic, but the rationality and intelligence with which she faced them made perfect sense. This isn’t a character that gladly walks into danger or makes stupidly brave decisions, and I very much enjoyed this about her, as well as her snarky personality and the frequent references she made to pop-culture.
Wiktoria could count on the support of an amazing cast of characters, among which the shining star was definitely Artur. As far as book boyfriends go, Artur has all the elements to make me swoon: he’s handsome, he’s funny, he’s protective and he’s respectful. I love the way the author built up the relationship between Wiktoria and Artur and how she very originally utilized one of my absolute favorite romance tropes, which I won’t spill because I don’t want to spoil. Is there a ship in the air? Certainly yes, but it’s a very different ship than what I’m used to, which leads me to the topic of queerness.
In many queer books I’ve read before, the characters are already quite certain of their identity and quite confident with it. This was not the case with the characters of Little Black Bird. Though there are some characters who wear their identity with pride, many—including Wiki—are still questioning and exploring. Something I really enjoyed was the asexual representation, which has opened a world to me and made me eager to explore more reads with this kind of rep.
Other elements I enjoyed were the Slavic mythology, the multifaceted aspects of magic and the gray morality of all characters involved. The line between heroes and villains is very blurred, and I’m counting on the future books to help me understand whom I can and cannot trust. My one “issue” was that sometimes I felt a bit aggravated by the refusal of some of the characters to provide clear answers, and while it did add to the mystery, it felt a bit stalling to the pace for my tastes. Still the book flowed really well for the most part and I am eagerly waiting for the next book!