Jordan Ifueko
Completed 10/30/2024, Reviewed 11/5/2024
4 stars
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is listed as a YA novel, nominated for multiple awards including the Andre Norton award for YA Sci Fi and Fantasy. It turned out to be one of those books that’s classified as YA because the protagonist is young. I think the plot is pretty mature and seems to be written for teens at the youngest. Well, that’s my opinion anyway. But it takes a rather standard plot and turns it on its head a bit. So even though it seemed like it was going in one direction, it went in several others. I liked that.
Tarisai has been growing up with tutors and servants. Her mother, known only as The Lady, visits every now and then. Tarisai is lonely with an intense desire to belong. At about age 9, she sort of gets her wish, and is sent to the capital to compete with others her age to be chosen as one of the eleven of the council of the heir to the throne. Reluctant at first, she finds she bonds with many of the other children. However, she has a gift that doesn’t allow her to touch other people, lest she share minds with them. That gift however, just might elevate her above the other children to be one of the selected. There is a catch though. The Lady commanded Tarisai to kill the prince once she is selected and becomes close to him. This leaves Tarisai with an existential dissonance: remain a part of the next ruling body of the kingdom, or overthrow the monarchy to fulfill her mother’s revenge plot.
The thing I liked most about this book was that Tarisai did not fall in love with the prince whom she is obligated to assassinate. She does become very close to him, along with two others selected for the council. But Ifueko very nicely sidesteps the falling in love with the target trope. Instead, the book focuses on Tarisai’s relationships with the prince, others on the council, her guardians, her vindictive mother, and her magical father. At the same time, the plot moves fairly quickly and keeps the action going at a decent pace. I liked the world building. Like the plot, it’s recognizable, but with twists. The twelve realms are like the various parts of our world, with a few extras added in, plus some things based on African folklore.
I give this book four stars out of five. I really liked it and empathized pretty well with the main character. My biggest gripe was that it didn’t feel like a YA novel. Yeah, I know that the classification is a publishing marketing thing, but I think it’s still misleading. I thought this book was quite adult in its content. I’m looking forward to the sequel of this duology. Hopefully, I’ll be reading it in a few weeks.