To Best the Boys

March 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur questions her place as a second class citizen in the seaside town of Pinsbury Port. Rhen is determined to become a scientist so she can save her mom and others by developing a cure for the "crippling disease." The annual Labyrinth Examination, historically an all-male STEM competition sponsored by Mr. Holm, is her chance to win a scholarship to the prestigious Stemick University. She must disguise herself to enter the brutal contest, and if she survives, she will be forced to make life-changing decisions. Rhen's harrowing journey through the Labyrinth Examination forces her to determine what she really wants. Weber's fantasy delves into themes of social class, feminism, gender roles, and love. The book's gory beginning is not for the faint of heart, but fans of powerful protagonists will push through. VERDICT A recommended general purchase.-Susan Harris, Ridgeway High School, TN

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

To prove herself and seize a chance for her mother, a girl enters a competition traditionally reserved for boys--one that could turn deadly. Every year, the mysterious Holm offers a contest for "all gentlepersons of university age" to compete for a prestigious scholarship. Tensions are running high in the patriarchal society of Pinsbury Port, which is physically divided into the haves and the have-nots, with the emergence of an unidentified disease that slowly kills its victims. Rhen Tellur seeks a cure for her infected mother: Desperate for access to better resources, she enters Holm's competition disguised as a boy. Weber (Reclaiming Shilo Snow, 2018, etc.) creates a high-fantasy world that evokes Victorian England but keeps the supernatural creatures, such as ghouls and sirens, roaming the margins. Tan-skinned 17-year-old Rhen is justifiably distraught over her mother's sickness but cool and calculating when engaged with science. She's also infatuated with Lute, an attractive, brown-skinned, lower-class boy. "The strangest woman" Lute's ever met, she prefers spending time in her father's lab examining blood samples from fresh cadavers over prancing around an upper-crust party. The plot and character development proceed in a predictable manner, making emotional investment in the story difficult for readers. Rhen is dyslexic and Lute's younger brother has Down syndrome. Racial markers are ambiguous, and the cast seemingly defaults to white. A competent but unremarkable addition to a "nevertheless, she persisted" display. (author's note, discussion questions, recipe) (Fantasy. 14-17)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (Online Review)