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Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn
Jun. 11th, 2021 08:10 pmAnother variation on the classic YA theme of a special outsider girl revolutionizing things and falling in love! But this time in the modern urban fantasy flavour instead of alternate world fantasy flavour. Bree is a 16 year old doing an early college experience, where she learns about a SECRET MAGIC SOCIETY which she must INFILTRATE despite SUSPICION about her based on her unusual magic abilities and the fact that she's not a rich white male legacy student! (The secret society is based on a King Arthur and the knights of the round table theme, because of course it is.)
The book is using these trappings to do a really good and interesting job of exploring the lead character's experiences of intergenerational trauma, grief and loss, and her relationship with her ancestry as a Black girl in the southern US. Would I have been more interested in these themes with a different type of book? Yeah, I personally would, as YA urban fantasy isn't generally my jam, even if they did add some king arthur flavour; but honestly I think it's GREAT that this book exists as it is for teens to read.
Was I bored during all the monster-fighting parts of the book? I sure was. Was I delighted by the idea of a ghost grandma showing up to help her descendant out? Absolutely! Overall I think that people who have more patience than me for the standard modern YA tropes would really love this book, and as it was I still am very glad I read it.
The book is using these trappings to do a really good and interesting job of exploring the lead character's experiences of intergenerational trauma, grief and loss, and her relationship with her ancestry as a Black girl in the southern US. Would I have been more interested in these themes with a different type of book? Yeah, I personally would, as YA urban fantasy isn't generally my jam, even if they did add some king arthur flavour; but honestly I think it's GREAT that this book exists as it is for teens to read.
Was I bored during all the monster-fighting parts of the book? I sure was. Was I delighted by the idea of a ghost grandma showing up to help her descendant out? Absolutely! Overall I think that people who have more patience than me for the standard modern YA tropes would really love this book, and as it was I still am very glad I read it.
