**This post originally appeared on a YA Fantasy Literature discussion board for my Children's Literature class**
Title: The Cruel Prince
Author: Holly Black
Genres: YA fiction, fantasy, read for school
The Cruel Prince drew me in
visually with its understated yet beautiful cover but the prologue definitely
peaked my reading interest since it literally starts off with a bang- a
mysterious man kills the parents of Jude, Taryn, and Vivienne in front of them.
Let’s just say that Mystery Man had a very personal connection to their mother…The
rest of the book occurs ten years later as the three girls have come to terms
with Madoc (the mysterious man) and their life in Faerie; Vivienne, Madoc’s
biological daughter, hates him and wants to leave Faerie to live with her
mortal girlfriend. Jude and Taryn are twins but are complete opposites in
personality: Taryn is quiet and loves the spectacle of Faerie parties and
balls; Jude’s goal is to become a Knight (these two remind me of Sansa and Arya
in the Game of Thrones series). Madoc
treats all three girls equally: “The servants are overfond of telling me how
fortunate I am, a bastard daughter of a faithless wife, a human without a drop
of faerie blood, to be treated like a trueborn child of Faerie. They tell Taryn
much the same thing” (Black, 2018, p.10). The Folk view Vivienne more fondly
due to her pure Faerie blood while Taryn and Jude are subjected to constant
scorn and mockery for their mortal status.
The court intrigue and drama in Faerie is also
reminiscent of Game of Thrones and mortal
world politics. High King Eldred’s six children each have their allies: The
Circle of Grackles (the party animals), Circle of Larks (the art lovers), and
Circle of Falcons (the warriors). Spies from each of these subgroups stay busy
discovering evidence of unsavory plots and creating distractions. Taryn and
Jude have to deal with their own immediate drama: Prince Cardan. Prince Cardan,
known through Faerie for his drunkenness, playboy ways, and cruelty: “This is
how they are. Someone gets in Cardan’s way, and they’re instantly and brutally
punished…I am grateful that Cardan has five more worthy brothers and sisters;
it’s guaranteed that he’ll never sit on the throne. I don’t want to think of
him with more power than he has” (Black, 2018, p.23). (Hello, Prince Joffrey of Westeros!). Prince
Cardan and his entourage take every opportunity to bully the sisters,
especially Jude, who verbally antagonizes them back in return.
Jude uses her past, swordfighting practice, and
chess strategy lessons with Madoc to build up her survival skills; skills she
hopes to use someday as an official warrior in Madoc’s retinue and gain power
to make her untouchable:
“I was raised by the man who murdered my
parents, reared in a land of monsters. I live with that fear, let it settle
into my bones, and ignore it. If I didn’t pretend to be scared, I would hide
under my owl-down coverlets in Madoc’s estate forever. I would lie there until
there was nothing left of me. I refuse to do that. I will not do that” (Black,
2018, p.31).
I am going to recommend two sets of readalikes
this week: one for older teens (ages 17-18) and one for younger teens (13-16).
For older teens, I recommend The Song of
Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (AKA Game of Thrones) and The
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. These are fantasy series for adults but could
also be categorized as YA/Adult crossovers. The
Song of Ice and Fire series takes place in a medieval world called
Westeros. Multiple kingdoms are vying for control of the throne while ignoring
the threat of “whitewalkers” (zombie-like creatures) to the north. This book
contains graphic, mature content, which is why I recommend it for older teens. The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy
that takes place in modern-day Chicago. Harry Dresden is a wizard turned
private detective (even wizards need to eat). Harry lives with two magical pets
and a lecherous, talking skull. He and his rag-tag groups of friends stay busy
saving Chicago and the world from various supernatural-induced catastrophes.
For younger teens, I recommend The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
(now an MTV series) and anything by Maggie Stiefvater. I have not read The
Shannara Chronicles myself but my husband has watched the TV series, which is
specifically created and marketed to a teenage audience. Maggie Stiefvater has
written about werewolves, water horses, and lots of other magical creatures. I
swoon every time she publishes a new book!
Citations:
Beimler, H. and Hewitt Wolfe, R. (Writers).
(2007-2008). The Dresden Files [Television series]. In N. Cage, N. Golightly,
R. Hewitt Wolfe, and D. Simkins (Producers). New York: SciFi Channel.
Benioff, D. and Weiss, D.B. (Writers and
Directors). (2011-2018). Game of Thrones [Television series]. In D. Benioff and
D.B. Weiss (Producers). New York: Home Box Office.
Black, H. (2018). The cruel prince. New York: Little, Brown, and Company.
Brooks, T. 1977-1985. London, UK: Orbit Books.
Butcher, J. 2000-2014. The Dresden Files, book series. New York: Roc Books.
Gough, A. and Millar, M. (Writers). (2016-2017).
The Shannara Chronicles [Television series]. In D. Blocker (Producer). New
York: Viacom Media Networks.
Martin, G.R.R. 1996-2011. Song of Ice and Fire, book series. New York: Bantam.
Title: The Buried Symbol
Author: jeffrey L. Kohanek
Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, read for school
Brock Tannerson is fed up with the futility of
life as an Unchosen after the death of his beloved aunt. “He didn’t want just
any vocation. He wanted to make a difference, to achieve something special. He
wanted to be able to save the next loved one when they needed him” (Kohanek,
2016, p. 43). After stealing enough money to get an illegal rune branded into
his forehead, Brock and his best friend, Tipper, set off the Academy- an elite
school run by the government (the Empire). While on the journey to the Academy,
Brock and Tipper encounter a banshee and a bacabra and Brock has a vision of an
unknown rune which gives him special powers and abilities (which come in handy
later in the book).
Once he arrives at the Academy, Brock realizes
he forgot to research the admissions requirements! Thanks to the help of well
connected, new friend, Brock applies to the Academy through a series of
puzzling evaluation tests; after passing these tests he is admitted to the
Academy and his life changes forever. Brock learns about engineering,
lore/history, fighting, the structure of the government, laws, and the arts of
healing and divination which seem to be his special gifts. Brock learns about
Order, a “life force tied to all living things” (Kohanek, 2016, p.174), which
sounds strangely similar to the force in the Star Wars universe…. As if dealing
with school stress and experiencing love with his first girlfriend wasn’t
enough to keep him busy, Brock also has to contend with a bully. The lost
symbol referred to in the title of the book, refers to some extracurricular
research Brock and his friends discovered after Brock illegally pilfered a book
from the library (originally referred to as a knowledge center). Their research
uncovered a rune for Chaos, another life force, that was used in the past for
destruction, but now the Ministry has erased Chaos from the cultural memory of
Issalia.
Although I initially had some misgivings about The Buried Symbol due to the cover (I
thought it looked amateurish and formatting (I know, I know, you can’t just a
book by its cover), the first chapter drew me in. Although this book wasn’t as
well written as The Cruel Prince (I
found a few spelling and grammatical errors in The Lost Symbol), the plot was fast-paced and engaging. I wish
certain background elements had been fleshed out more within the text. For
example, being an Unchosen is a big deal but the ceremony where all the
citizens received the rune that determines the course of their life is barely
mentioned throughout the book. There are a few scenes where Tipper, Brock’s
best friend, experiences discrimination based on his Unchosen status, yet the
author never delves in depth into the hierarchy and classism of this world. Another
thing that bugged me was the way the author described females in the book- they
were either curvy, voluptuous, and beautiful, or they were painfully thin. I
know this book is told from the perspective of a teenage boy, but I found these
initial descriptions of women as superficial and annoying. Even though this is
a fantasy novel, the characters in the book don’t speak as formally as most
characters in fantasy novels do. In fact, they sometimes speak in a Southern
manner. Brock refers to his father as “Pa” and the man in the tavern that was
upset about eating in the same inn as an Unchosen kept using the word “ain’t.” I
don’t know if this was on purpose because of the intended audience or if it’s
just the author’s writing style, but I’m used to a certain formality of
language when reading fantasy novels. Oh, and did anyone notice that the map of
Issalia resembles the continental US?
Citations:
Kohanek, J. (2016). The buried symbol. No location: Black Rose Printing.
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