Kiva is a healer in a death prison, where no prisoner leaves once they arrive. In such a harsh environment, healing is incredibly difficult. Still, she does what she can using the knowledge her father passed on. Kiva’s world changes when the Rebel Queen is taken captive and she finds a coded message from her family telling her to keep the queen alive at all costs. The gravely ill Rebel Queen is sentenced to endure elemental magic trials, which no one has ever successfully completed. Kiva ends up volunteering in her place and risking it all. If she wins, both of them can finally leave the prison. But first Kiva must find magic she doesn’t have and locate the cause of a mysterious illness sweeping the prison.

Kiva is a smart and scrappy character, which I love! While she guards her heart closely, it’s very satisfying to watch her form relationships with several other key players in the prison. There were several cunning twists that I didn't see coming, but made me shriek with delight! The prison is a dark and evil place, where survival is extremely difficult, so I was consistently curious about how Kiva was going to attempt to win the trials. Full disclosure, I felt a little wary about reading a story where illness is such a central aspect, as we’re all living through a pandemic. However, I did not experience any issues that impacted my enjoyment of the story. There are a number of dark elements and potential triggers (self-harm, abuse) so definitely be aware of that and feel free to ask if you have any questions!

The Prison Healer is well-paced, full of secrets, and I’m SO ready for the next book after that thrilling ending!! It’s clear there is a much larger story to be told and I’m excited to see how the story continues in the sequel. If you enjoy mysterious characters, plot twists, and elemental magic- you need to check this out! Thank you so much to Lynette Noni, HMH Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.