The Afterward

January 1, 2019
Lady knights return to town as heroes--and struggle with life after fame.Sir Erris Quicksword returns victorious to the city of Cadria with her six faithful companions, having managed to find the magical godsgem and destroy the evil Old God. Welcomed home with great rewards and acclaim, Sir Erris marries the king, and peace returns to the kingdom. Bisexual Olsa Rhetsdaughter, the one lowborn member, feels utterly abandoned and falls back into a life of struggle and thievery. Meanwhile, apprentice knight Kalanthe Ironheart, who is lesbian, returns from her first mission only to prepare apprehensively for marriage--likely to a wealthy man hoping for heirs and willing to pay off her family's debt. Johnston (That Inevitable Victorian Thing, 2017, etc.) weaves a compelling fantasy world in which meticulously crafted female characters slip easily between chain mail and dresses, enjoying many freedoms and yet facing economic and biological pressures to marry men. The narrative flits between the great quest and "the afterward," revealing the romantic love between dutiful Kalanthe and defiant Olsa. The characters are diverse--including trans and asexual representation--and many are portrayed as beautifully dark-skinned with natural hair. Impatient readers will note that there's an awful lot of armor and weaponry with very little questing. It's with some relief that there's trouble in the realm once again.Fascinating female characters in a richly built fantasy world that delivers slowly on adventure. (Fantasy. 13-16)

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February 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-A year has passed since Sir Erris and her band of lady knights (and one male mage) found and used the Godsgem to get rid of Old God and free the king of Cadrium from his enchantment. While they all basked in glory and fame, the two youngest members of the group, Olsa and Kalanthe, find their lives very difficult. Olsa, a thief who is now too-easily recognized, keeps being arrested and only kept from prison through the intervention of her knightly friends. Apprentice Knight Kalanthe must find a husband to marry and to pay her debt from her training. Despite their close and romantic relationship, Olsa finds that Kalanthe has grown impatient with having to rescue her from prison and after her latest caper, she remains imprisoned. When Mage Ladros discovers that the Godsgem's hiding place is not as secure as first thought, he frees Olsa from prison and gathers the rest of the lady knights to unite one more time to save the kingdom. Both the world-building and the LGBTQ romance are well done and appealing. Kalanthe and Olsa have strong characterization. The other knights, while not as well drawn, add depth to the action. Plot action, divided into "Before" and "After," could initially make readers wonder if the book is a sequel, but the structure becomes clear after a few chapters. VERDICT A delightful tale that should appeal to fans of the author's work and Malinda Lo's fantasies.-Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 When the King of Cadria fell ill, it seemed that the once-vanquished and cruel Old God was returning, so champions were �assembled?three knights, an apprentice, a mage, and one thief?to find the famous godsgem and destroy the Old God forever. Winning the battle, they returned to living their lives, and the thief went back to her trade, little realizing she was the key to the final fight. This is a female-driven high-fantasy adventure, and the lesbian love story between thief Olsa and apprentice knight Kalanthe is as much the point as the good-versus-evil trope that packages it. There is an understated yet intimate (not explicit) bed scene well integrated into the plot and not at all sensationalized. Johnston's (Exit, Pursued by a Bear, 2016) latest boasts a diverse cast of characters (in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientation), where five of the six champions are young women. Told in chapters that move between the past and present, this is a positive story about friendships, loyalty, and achievement.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)