Age: High School

"Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past" (Goodreads feature review).

I totally fell in love with the deciphering/code-breaking aspect of Bitterblue. I also was happy for the length of the book, allowing multiple story lines and mysteries to intertwine along with setting. Amidst my love of the story, some characters fall flat. Bitterblue's character is somewhat unlikeable. She complains a lot, is soul-searching for the whole book, and is incredibly vulnerable, needing stronger people to surround her. However, these are the aspects that wanted me to see how Bitterblue, a girl with a deranged past and an almost insurmountable future, could overcome. Saf, the love interest, has a confusing ending that peters off the story line.

Finally, I'd like to give a shout-out to my homie Death, the librarian. I love characters that are so frumpy and grumpy that they're cute. Also, his name.