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theoddduckling's reviews
53 reviews
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Ala is cursed. Niko is cursed. Dymitr, too is cursed, though no one would ever call it that. As the three form a tenuous alliance, they come to understand that curses come in many forms and have many names: duty, tradition, blessing, and that sometimes suffering together is better than suffering alone.
***
Dymitr knows pain. He once saw his own heart beating outside his body. It is the only way to atone for the things he has done, the people he has killed with the sword that contains half of his soul.
Ala, immortal zmora, can do little but watch as the infinite years of her life are eaten up by the curse passed to her from her mother. She watches every day visions of others like her - creatures of Chicago's paranormal underground - are murdered at the hands of monsters wielding swords made of bone.
Niko, beautiful, audacious Niko, is feared by his own stryga brethren. His life, too, though immortal, will be short and brutal as he hunts those who hunt his kind. Male stryga are rare, and he was made, not born, making him powerful than any stryga before him.
After retrieving a rare flower, Dymitr approaches Ala with an offer that she cannot refuse: the flower that can break her curse in exchange for her help on his quest for justice and an audience with the most powerful witch in Chicago: Baba Yaga.
As soon a she meets Dymitr, she knows he's no normal man, he does not fear her nor her brethren, even though he should. Which is where Niko comes in. When Dymitr volunteers as sacrifice in Ala's place, Niko helps them escape an ambush and leads them to Baba Yaga.
But all three carry secrets with them and there is nothing Baba Yaga likes more than secrets. The further along the path they go, the more secrets are pulled from them, until Dymitr cannot hid the fact that he is the monster Niko and Ala have been taught to fear: a knight of the Holy Order, trained to hunt and kill monsters like Niko and Ala, half of whose tattered soul lives in the bone sword that is responsible for so much pain.
That is what Dymitr needs to atone for: all the pain he's caused, the blood he's spilled...the curses he and his family have inflicted. And he means to, with his own pain and blood, his own curse. But penance comes in many forms, some Dymitr could not have imagined.
When Among Crows is a beautiful, cruel and poignant story about love, redemption and penance. At its heart, it is an immigrant story. It's an exploration of how culture passes down generation to generation, what is lost and added and changed. Roth bakes Polish folklore into the very fabric of her loosely fictionalized Chicago, underpinning it with the mysterious creatures who live among us, look like us, and yet have had entirely different experiences.
The relationships between Ala, Niko and Dymitr develop quickly, which is in part the result of the novella format and part the result of a story that moves at just slightly too quick a pace. But despite this, the relationship feels complicated and authentic, idealized in its simplicity (isn't beauty enough?) and marred by betrayal (SOMETHING GOES HERE).
Roth sticks the landing, it really is the only outcome to such a story and yet it left me surprised, devastated and feeling seen. She handles the subtext of mental health deftly, highlight the need for community, and acknowledging how unhealthy coping mechanism can develop and take over without talking down or dismissing the difficulty of breaking those habits or admonishing the reader (or characters) for developing them in the first place.
My only real complaint is that I wanted more. I wanted to live in this world longer, dig deeper into the magic of it, learn more about the characters and see their relationships develop more slowly on the page.
It is sparse and poetic, Roth's writing beautiful in a way that has been missing from much of my reading lately and, I think, from much of the fantasy genre. I loved the novella format, despite my desire for more of this world, it kept me turning pages right to the end. It's wonderful to see the evolution of Roth's writing, both in her skill and her subject matter. I look forward to reading what she writes next!
***
Dymitr knows pain. He once saw his own heart beating outside his body. It is the only way to atone for the things he has done, the people he has killed with the sword that contains half of his soul.
Ala, immortal zmora, can do little but watch as the infinite years of her life are eaten up by the curse passed to her from her mother. She watches every day visions of others like her - creatures of Chicago's paranormal underground - are murdered at the hands of monsters wielding swords made of bone.
Niko, beautiful, audacious Niko, is feared by his own stryga brethren. His life, too, though immortal, will be short and brutal as he hunts those who hunt his kind. Male stryga are rare, and he was made, not born, making him powerful than any stryga before him.
After retrieving a rare flower, Dymitr approaches Ala with an offer that she cannot refuse: the flower that can break her curse in exchange for her help on his quest for justice and an audience with the most powerful witch in Chicago: Baba Yaga.
As soon a she meets Dymitr, she knows he's no normal man, he does not fear her nor her brethren, even though he should. Which is where Niko comes in. When Dymitr volunteers as sacrifice in Ala's place, Niko helps them escape an ambush and leads them to Baba Yaga.
But all three carry secrets with them and there is nothing Baba Yaga likes more than secrets. The further along the path they go, the more secrets are pulled from them, until Dymitr cannot hid the fact that he is the monster Niko and Ala have been taught to fear: a knight of the Holy Order, trained to hunt and kill monsters like Niko and Ala, half of whose tattered soul lives in the bone sword that is responsible for so much pain.
That is what Dymitr needs to atone for: all the pain he's caused, the blood he's spilled...the curses he and his family have inflicted. And he means to, with his own pain and blood, his own curse. But penance comes in many forms, some Dymitr could not have imagined.
When Among Crows is a beautiful, cruel and poignant story about love, redemption and penance. At its heart, it is an immigrant story. It's an exploration of how culture passes down generation to generation, what is lost and added and changed. Roth bakes Polish folklore into the very fabric of her loosely fictionalized Chicago, underpinning it with the mysterious creatures who live among us, look like us, and yet have had entirely different experiences.
The relationships between Ala, Niko and Dymitr develop quickly, which is in part the result of the novella format and part the result of a story that moves at just slightly too quick a pace. But despite this, the relationship feels complicated and authentic, idealized in its simplicity (isn't beauty enough?) and marred by betrayal (SOMETHING GOES HERE).
Roth sticks the landing, it really is the only outcome to such a story and yet it left me surprised, devastated and feeling seen. She handles the subtext of mental health deftly, highlight the need for community, and acknowledging how unhealthy coping mechanism can develop and take over without talking down or dismissing the difficulty of breaking those habits or admonishing the reader (or characters) for developing them in the first place.
My only real complaint is that I wanted more. I wanted to live in this world longer, dig deeper into the magic of it, learn more about the characters and see their relationships develop more slowly on the page.
It is sparse and poetic, Roth's writing beautiful in a way that has been missing from much of my reading lately and, I think, from much of the fantasy genre. I loved the novella format, despite my desire for more of this world, it kept me turning pages right to the end. It's wonderful to see the evolution of Roth's writing, both in her skill and her subject matter. I look forward to reading what she writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Always Only You by Chloe Liese
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident
You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A brutal, fast paced follow up to The Bone Season. Samantha Shannon expands the world of Scion, taking readers deeper into the dark underbelly of the London Citadel and its clairvoyant population.
Now that Paige Mahoney is back in London, she must decide whether to return to her old life as mollisher for the charismatic Jaxon Hall. But how can she when she knows the truth about Scion?
But the influent of the Rephiam goes deeper than anyone could have imagined, and Paige begins to wonder if she didn’t escape one form of slavery only to find herself in another.
Now that Paige Mahoney is back in London, she must decide whether to return to her old life as mollisher for the charismatic Jaxon Hall. But how can she when she knows the truth about Scion?
But the influent of the Rephiam goes deeper than anyone could have imagined, and Paige begins to wonder if she didn’t escape one form of slavery only to find herself in another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Suicidal thoughts