Legendborn

August 3, 2020
The African diaspora blends with Arthurian legend in Deonn’s dynamic YA fantasy debut, reminiscent of City of Bones. On her first two nights at the University of North Carolina’s Early College program, 16-year-old Bree Matthews, who is Black, witnesses otherworldly demonic attacks that most other students can’t see. When a strong mage’s attempt to alter Bree’s memories fails, she recovers the recent events alongside a brief recollection from the night of her mother’s death, three months prior—a fragment that she realizes another mesmerist sought to hide. Convinced the campus incidents have something to do with her mom’s sudden end, Bree persuades peer mentor Nick to help her infiltrate the magical Order of the Round Table, the historically white, deeply racist secret society that he was born into, and which is committed to hunting the demons. Bree struggles as the Order’s sole Black member and page, but outside Black female practitioners offer help via a different means of magic, and Bree must decide which path will give her the most answers about both her mother and herself. Though hazy exposition initially slows the narrative, Deonn adeptly employs the haunting history of the American South (“the low buzzing sound of exclusion”) to explore themes of ancestral pain, grief, and love, balancing them with stimulating worldbuilding and multiple thrilling plot twists. Ages 14–up. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative.

Joniece Abbott-Pratt's dynamic narration draws listeners into a contemporary fantasy packed with ancient magic, Arthurian mythology, and family legacies. Bree is a 16-year-old Black girl whose grief and anger over the death of her mother are made palpable through Abbott-Pratt's powerful voice. When Bree attends an off-campus party as an early college student at UNC, she stumbles into a secret magical society that may be connected to her mother's death. Her fiery determination to uncover the truth drives her to infiltrate the Order of the Round Table, and she discovers much more than she could ever have imagined. Abbott-Pratt skillfully shifts into and out of each character's voice, ranging from easy Southern drawls to menacing gravelly tones. A breathtaking listen. E.E.C. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine