"The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black Book Review
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Coming of age is not so much an age limit as it is a time period in which the choices we make serve as transition points that help us to discover and define our nature as an adult. Such is the case with Jude, a human twin child who finds herself being raised by her parents murderer in a faerie world where promises are more than the sum of their parts, careless words are not often spoken, and where lies are foreign but interactions are regularly cloaked with hidden meaning. While being raised as the human daughter of the Faerie Army general has the advantages of a comfortable enough existence and a good education, the limit of the protections it offers within a Faerie Court reminiscent of Tudor England, with all the intrigue and virtually immortal participants, is regularly put into question. As in the human world, no point in court life is so critical as the transition between monarchs especially in this case when there are five heirs vying for a throne that rules the Faerie world and heavily influences the human world. Trail Jude as she discovers that her wits and strategy are far better companions than magic when it comes to deciding her true nature and where her allegiances lie.
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It's important to note that this novel is to be the first in what will be a trilogy. As such, a good amount of time is spent in detailing characters, scenery, setting and overall background information that will be necessary to understand events and actions that take place later on. Expect a cliffhanger, read carefully and do not be quick to attach yourself to the merit of any character as the nature of a faerie is to be shrewd and calculating. While not as deep level fantasy as Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," this book is a good starting place for anyone who would like to test out the fantasy genre without diving into the deep end but has enough strategy and intrigue to engage the adult reader. However, it is also appropriately labeled a teen fiction as many adolescent themes such as bullying, home-life and finding where you belong are an integral part of Jude's character development. Keeping this one!
~Bookleaf~
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It's been a while since I last had my nose in a trilogy. This book sounds interesting, the Fairy World theme fascinates me. Have you read "The Stolen Child", from Keith Donohue? I really recommend that one if anyone wants to have a good time with plenty of "changelings" around and enjoy a well-set plot.
I haven't read that one yet, but I'll be sure to add it to my book queue! I haven't read a book about changelings yet. :)
Reading and reviewing these books must take a tremendous amount of time. It's a huge commitment.
Worth it! :D I love reading so it doesn't seem like work at all. I rather enjoy it. Plus I get to help other people discover good reads like I did working at the library! Thanks for understanding the effort. :)
You should take a look at a service called "book of the month". I don't know too much about it but I think they send you your choice of 5 new books each month.