We Rule the Night

Starred review from January 15, 2019
Flight, friendship, and feminism collide in this fantasy that draws heavy inspiration from the Soviet female bomber pilots of World War II known as the Night Witches.In this USSR-influenced world, war seems eternal. Every Union resource is dedicated to the war; women use their spark magic to power the technology that shapes living metal into war machines while men and boys die on the front. Linné, the daughter of a general who dressed as a boy to join the war, and Revna, the disabled daughter of a convicted traitor, are each angry at a world that doesn't have a place they belong, which brings them both to an experimental women's flight regiment. The richly textured world, painted in snow and fire, filled with disparate, diverse people who all want to win the war, is background to a powerful, slow burning story that develops Linné and Revna's reluctant friendship, their growing understanding of the world, and their emerging identities as soldiers who may not entirely trust the country they are willing to die for. Undercurrents of religion, hypocrisy, betrayal, and honor roil beneath the alternating third-person perspectives; hints of possible romances and likely bigger battles to come seem to promise a sequel or two. Linné is bronze-skinned and Revna is pale; descriptions assume a white default.A fierce and compelling breakout debut that should not be missed. (author's note) (Fantasy. 13-adult)

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Starred review from March 4, 2019
Inspired by the Night Witches, real WWII Soviet fighter pilots, Bartlett’s electrifying feminist fantasy debut uses keenly wrought characters, harrowing action sequences, and creative yet economical worldbuilding to explore misogynistic military culture and the human cost of war. Revna Roshena’s father is serving life in prison for stealing military scrap to fashion her prosthetic legs, so when a Union officer witnesses the 17-year-old practicing banned magic known as the Weave in the middle of an enemy attack, she fears she’ll meet a similar fate. Instead, the Union proposes a deal: if she’ll use her magical abilities to fly planes made of sentient metal for an experimental all-female regiment, they’ll forgive her crimes and provide for her family. Revna bonds with all her fellow recruits except Linné Zolonov, a general’s daughter caught posing as a boy to join the military. Linné initially disdains her fellow soldiers’ femininity and inexperience, and regards Revna as a liability. Then the two are sent into battle as navigator and pilot, forcing both to reexamine her own prejudices regarding strength and ability, loyalty, and patriotism. Revna and Linné’s relationship evolves via an alternating third-person narrative, compounding the depth and heft of an already sophisticated plot. The stirring conclusion inspires hope for a sequel. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kurestin Armada, P.S. Literary.

Starred review from April 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-This action-packed Russian-inspired fantasy features two strong-willed but very different teenagers recruited to join a squadron of female aviators conducting night bombing raids against their country's enemy, the Elda. Their country, The Union of the North, is energized by Spark magic and aligned by Weave magic. Even though doing Weave magic is illegal, it's practiced in secret. Traitor's daughter Revna, 17, is a struggling machine factory worker, with living metal prosthetic legs. When the Elda bomb her city, Revna uses the Weave to save a member of the feared Skarov (espionage agents with shape-shifting abilities) from getting killed and is caught. Instead of jail, Revna is invited to join an all-female aviator regiment. Bronze-skinned Linné, also 17, joins, too, after her disguise as a boy fighting in the Union army is discovered and she's dismissed. Along with 11 other young women, they train to use their Weave and Spark to combat Elda's firepower. Revna and Linné dislike each other on sight but are stuck as flying partners. Linné knows Revna's a good pilot but thinks her disability makes her a liability. Dangerous missions force them to commit morally untenable acts, while they also endure the derision of male pilots and officers who don't think they belong. VERDICT For fans of Leigh Bardugo's "Shadow and Bone" series, Gennifer Albin's Crewel, or Kathryn Lasky's Night Witches, who like complex, multivolume feminist fantasies, full of sharply realized characterizations, intriguing magical elements, and twisty plots.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

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Starred review from April 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* When Revna lost her legs, her father stole living metal to make her prosthetics. That got him arrested and their family demoted to second-class citizens; now, Revna works in a factory, harnessing a legal form of magic to aid the Union's war effort. When she accesses the Weave, the illegal magic, and is spotted by the Union's spy network, she never expects to be recruited. Linn�'s infamous war-general father thinks she's at school, but she's disguised herself as a boy to join the army. When she's caught, she's recruited into the same program as Revna: a women's military unit where girls use the Weave to fly two-man planes in a fight against an enemy with vastly superior weapons. When Revna and Linn� are paired together, neither is thrilled; hard-edged Linn� has made few friends among the girls, and she sees Revna, with her prosthetics, as a liability. But if they can't work together, they have no chance at all. Though set in a fantasy world, Bartlett's high-concept debut takes its inspiration from the WWII-era Soviet Night Witches. Rich characterizations and an enemy that, while it looms in the background, never feels quite as threatening as the country the girls are fighting for complete a story set against the bright, brutal backdrop of war. A breathless series starter from a new voice to watch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)