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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Legendborn
by Tracy Deonn
Disclaimer: I bought this book for my book club! Let me know if you want to join, but most importantly SUPPORT YOUR AUTHORS AND BUY DIVERSE READS!
Book: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Book Series: Legendborn Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black MC, lesbian and gay characters and romances, half Venezuelan character, Asian character, mixed relationship,
Recommended For...: LGBT+, ownvoice, fantasy, retellings, urban fantasy
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy/King Arthur Retelling
Recommended Age: 16+ (grief, racism, police brutality mention TW, romance, slight sexual content, gore, violence, whipping TW, language, rape mention TW, slavery)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 512
Synopsis: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Review: This will more than likely be my favorite book of 2020. I absolutely LOVED this book. The book is amazingly well written, the characters are expertly developed, the world building was so detailed that you will miss some of the small details on the first read, and the beauty of the book is admirable. The book also writes so bluntly about the horrors of slavery and the racism that Black people still face today. It’s a recommended and must read for everyone. I also liked the symbolism of Root as a symbol for learning about the past and putting down history, which can be very hard for some people including Black Americans because of the evils of slavery and the lack of accurate record keeping during that time. The book also did well to show the sharp contrast in that and how white people can look up their history. I know my own personal history, I’m able to go back to 900 A.D. That’s privilege though and I really liked learning how it is a privilege and how to be mindful of that.
The only issue I had was that the book was a bit slow, but it picks up throughout the book.
Verdict: Highly recommend! Must Read!
Book: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Book Series: Legendborn Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black MC, lesbian and gay characters and romances, half Venezuelan character, Asian character, mixed relationship,
Recommended For...: LGBT+, ownvoice, fantasy, retellings, urban fantasy
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy/King Arthur Retelling
Recommended Age: 16+ (grief, racism, police brutality mention TW, romance, slight sexual content, gore, violence, whipping TW, language, rape mention TW, slavery)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 512
Synopsis: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Review: This will more than likely be my favorite book of 2020. I absolutely LOVED this book. The book is amazingly well written, the characters are expertly developed, the world building was so detailed that you will miss some of the small details on the first read, and the beauty of the book is admirable. The book also writes so bluntly about the horrors of slavery and the racism that Black people still face today. It’s a recommended and must read for everyone. I also liked the symbolism of Root as a symbol for learning about the past and putting down history, which can be very hard for some people including Black Americans because of the evils of slavery and the lack of accurate record keeping during that time. The book also did well to show the sharp contrast in that and how white people can look up their history. I know my own personal history, I’m able to go back to 900 A.D. That’s privilege though and I really liked learning how it is a privilege and how to be mindful of that.
The only issue I had was that the book was a bit slow, but it picks up throughout the book.
Verdict: Highly recommend! Must Read!