A review by sahanac
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It’s everything I want from my YA novels, harkening back to the good ole days of 2014, when the trilogy ruled the YA realm, with works like Divergent or Matched. But now, we get far more in-depth lore, speaking more candidly (and less stereotypically) about mental health, and with a whole lot more diversity of character. Bree’s experience at UNC is profoundly shaped by her Blackness. It’s a reality that so many BIPOC students face that has only recently been put to pen like this, and a reality that the author, Tracey Deonn knows intimately, having gone to UNC herself.   

The coolest part is one I won’t spoil for you, but there is a very fun other magic in this book too, so if you like King Arthur and his knights, but it’s not enough to sway you, there’s a whole lot more to the magic of this world, and Bree discovers all of the secrets and implications in due course.   

It’s a brick of a book, but it flies by. The themes in this book of Bree’s blackness, the unquestioned queerness among her friends and peers, and the honest discussions of grief and the trauma that results make for a very real and grounded force within this novel that is otherwise so perfectly fantastical. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second one. In this series – here's hoping for a trilogy.