Legendborn
By Tracy Deonn
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release date: September 15th, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA
contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a
modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.
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.
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Author Information
Tracy Deonn is a writer and second-generation fangirl. She grew up in central
North Carolina, where she devoured fantasy books and Southern food in equal
measure. After earning her master's degree in communication and performance
studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tracy worked in
live theater, video game production, and K–12 education. When she’s not
writing, Tracy speaks on panels at science fiction and fantasy conventions,
reads fanfic, arranges puppy playdates, and keeps an eye out for ginger-
flavored everything. She can be found on Twitter at @TracyDeonn and
at TracyDeonn.com.
My Review
I never. In my life. Thought I would accidentally stumble across a book. That SEAMLESSLY mixes the legend of King Arthur and the Knight of the Round table (should that be capital?) AND the history of the African American people. WHO DECIDES TO DO THAT? I'll tell you. Tracy Deonn, and thank Buddha for her!!!
Deonn brings us a story about Bree a girl who's recently lost her mother in a car accident right after they had an argument and is haunted by her last actions. When Bree sees something she can't explain the event triggers a memory, and the night of her mothers death wasn't as she remembered. As Bree journeys to learn the truth about her mothers death she finds a secret society, mystery, friendship, love, and because there are always folks trying to crush black girl magic, she find micro-aggression (as if that's going to stop us).
What I love about Bree is that she manages to be strong, immovable, and defiant in a way that I love, while also showing us a vulnerability and pain that was so real and raw and absolutely deserving of her character and situation. Magic knight spirits aside, Bree was a real character. It would have been so easy for her to be too tough or too weepy or too... something, but she was a well rounded, full realized person. And gosh darn it, I liked her.
There was a time when one could read a book about a black character (typically female) immersed in a white space and her blackness was almost erased. But with Bree, we have a girl who address the amount of time it takes to wash, condition, and twist your hair. For those who don't know it take HOURS. It's nice to see someone who calls out their friends when they stick their hands in your hair WITHOUT ASKING. It's also nice to see someone who is so taken aback by a micro (macro) aggression and is frozen in shock because... it happens. Even the sassiest of us (that's me) can be shocked into silence.
I can't say a lot about this book without giving things away but I would like to take a moment to say that I knew a thing was happening, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I'm still pretty proud of myself. Also full disclosure, it looks like there's going to be a second book so don't expect a neat ending.
I'll be buying this book. In fact I've pre-ordered it! Folks! We have a new contender for favorite book of 2020.
Enjoyed the review. I received an ARC too and was blown away.
ReplyDeleteIt was!! The one thing that sucks about getting an ARC and loving the book, is you have to wait longer for book 2. Lol. Thanks for stopping by!
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