[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Walden Pond Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Marya has grown up in the shadow of her two brothers – the younger brother who died and the older brother, Luka, destined to be a great sorcerer who protects their kingdom. But when Luka’s magical assessment doesn’t go as planned, and Marya is blamed for everything that went awry, she is taken to Dragomir Academy. While Marya’s not sure exactly what it means to go to a school for “troubled” girls, no one in her family seems inclined to try to stop it.
Once she’s there, Marya’s curiosity leads her to ask questions – and those questions only lead to more trouble.
Review
It’s hard to talk about this one because a lot of the punch and power comes from the whole. To talk about it with someone who hasn’t read it would ruin it for them.
In some ways, this went exactly where I expected it to go. But it went farther – almost to a bleak and disturbing place. Not disturbing like the content is bad, but disturbing like it holds a mirror up to things we might want to pretend don’t exist. If readers will let it, this book will force them to look unflinchingly at some things. And I encourage it. Take it in – see and hear what the story has to say. Sit with it and then ask yourself what you’re going to do with what you’ve seen.
I know this is written with middle grade readers in mind. But I’d love to hand this to a group of high school girls and talk with them about it. I think their take on the story, with a little distance from being Marya’s age, would be fascinating. It also would be interesting to talk about this with other adult women.
I highly recommend this one, especially for book groups because this begs to be discussed with other readers. (TW: Gaslighting)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.
