The Stolen Heir by Holly Black. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours, 14 minutes. Read by Saskia Maarleveld. Hachette Audio, January, 2023. 9781549135033. (Review of e-audiobook downloaded from public library.)
Happy Tuesday TMS Readers! Teen Tuesday features The Stolen Heir by Holly Black. Ms. Black returns to the kingdom of Elfhame in book one of a planned duology. She really is the undisputed queen of stories of the faerie folk. Make no mistake, this world is not full of benign little Tinker Bells. This world is savage.
The story takes place eight years after the Battle of the Serpent. Queen Nore has imprisoned Madoc in the Ice Needle Citadel and Queen Jude has sent her half-brother, Prince Oak, now eighteen, on a quest to free him. Queen Nore's ransom is a missing relic. Suren, Wren, has been living rough in the human world when she is hunted by the hag Bogdana. Oak rescues her and she joins him on his quest. Once upon a time, the two were betrothed.
This dark and twisty tale enchants from the beginning. I read this with my ears and enjoyed new-to-me narrator, Saskia Maarleveld's well-paced performance. The ending was so riveting that I missed my exit on my drive home from Massachusetts on Sunday and got stuck in traffic on 95 all the way to the George Washington Bridge in the rain! Now, I breathlessly await the next book, The Prisoner's Throne, due out in February, 2023. Mature readers who enjoy dark fantasy will enjoy this. Highly recommended! Happy reading.
PS: isn't that cover amazing?
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Folk of Air series #1. Unabridged digital recording (online resource). Twelve hours, 37 minutes. Read by Caitlin Kelly. Blackstone Audio, January, 2018. 9781549140082. (Review from e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)
When I received an arc of this at a Little Brown Preview, I was super-excited because I adore Holly Black. When she signed my arc, she did caution me that it really wasn't for middle school when I shared that I work in a middle school. So, I kept putting off reading it. Then the stars started rolling out. Then I found it on audio, which is the way I tend read most fantasy and older YA.
Wow! Consider my socks officially knocked off!
To summarize, after a third-person preface, this is narrated by seventeen-year-old Jude Duarte. In the preface, we learn that when Jude and her twin sister were seven, their home was invaded by Madoc, their older sister, Vivian's fae father. Madoc has learned that the body that was burned with his house was not that of his wife and her unborn child and, after viciously murdering his wife and Jude's father as revenge, kidnaps the three girls and returns to Elfhame.
Fast forward ten years and the POV switches to first-person, present tense. Jude Duarte is a compelling narrator. She hates Madoc but loves Elfhame. She trains hard towards her goal of becoming a knight in the king's court. This will give her a measure of power in a land where she is an outsider and despised - especially by Cardon, the king's youngest son who is a bully.
The world-building is vivid. Black immerses the reader into a fully-formed Faerieland, peopled with fascinating, vicious characters. The story is sumptuous and intriguing, always surprising. There is not one wasted word nor misplaced character. The suspense ratcheted up unbearably before taking me totally by surprise, leaving me breathless and panting for the next installment.
The Cruel Prince is not to be missed - especially if you are a fan of faerie stories. While Ms. Black's advice that the story is not for the typical middle school reader, I have mature eighth grade readers who are huge fantasy fans who would love this. (I also have an eighth grade only section in my library.) And while I am sad that I did not get to read the arc before publication, not doing so shortens the length of time I have to wait for the next installment, The Wicked King, due out January 8, 2019! Behold the beautiful cover:
Tithe by Holly Black. A Modern Faerie Tale #1. 320 p. Margaret K. MeElderry Books/ Simon & Schuster, October, 2002. 9780689849244. (own)
#tbt features Tithe by Holly Black. This is book one of a trilogy called A Modern Tale of Faerie. It was also Ms. Black's debut and was published in 2002. A year later, her collaboration with Tony DiTirrlizzi, The Field Guide, which is the first book in The Spiderwick Chronicles was published. Tithe is the story of sixteen-year-old Kaye, who enjoys her nomadic life touring with her mom, who fronts a band. She's sent to live at her grandmother's home near the Jersey shore after a band member is attacked. Danger follows her there. She thought she once had three imaginary friends, but then two of the three show up to warn her of imminent danger. This dark story of the seely and unseely courts of faerie is rich and suspenseful.
