I don’t read a ton of YA fantasy, but when I do pick one up, I want to make sure it’s something really special. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn came highly recommended, and this high-stakes contemporary fantasy Arthurian reimagining did not disappoint.
Bree Matthews, a bright, confident sixteen-year-old, is just about to set off for the Early College program at the University of North Carolina when her mother is tragically killed.
Her grief awoke something in her, something new and powerful and painful, and she starts seeing things that no one else can. When she gets to campus, strange things start happening all around her, and Bree’s questions lead her to an ancient secret society and even more questions.
With the help of some new friends, Bree is determined to find out the truth about what happened to her mother and what is happening to her. But the Order of the Round Table is more than a typical college secret society, and Bree finds herself in the midst of magic, myth, and a centuries-long war against evil.
There are many spectacular things about this book, but part of the beauty and power in this storytelling is in the fact that there is a real history here, attached to real pain, told through Bree’s character.
She is magnificent and strong, and the fantasy elements do not take away from the gritty reality that is her life and her tragedy. There are poignant moments throughout the story exploring race and teenage girlhood, and the way these two things intersect for Bree.
I think of what it might cost me to infiltrate the Order. To succeed in an institution founded by men who could have legally owned me, and wanted to.
Legendborn has a unique and gorgeous writing style with an almost poetic quality that remains completely digestible in a way that is nothing short of impressive. The secret society itself is elaborate in system and structure, and the complexity is intriguing from the start.
The magic system is well-developed and fascinating. I loved how seamlessly the different elements of the book came together. Legendborn has layers of depth and meaning with the two sides of this magical system that come together to tell a powerful story.
“Colonizer magic. Magic that costs and takes. Many practitioners face demons. Many of us face evil. But from the moment their founders arrived, from the moment they stole Native homelands, [redacted for spoilers] themselves gave the demons plenty to feed on! They reap what their magic sows.”
There is a potential love triangle situation at play here, which I wasn’t thrilled about after the disaster of Lightlark, but in this first book, it was not a problem for me. I look forward to seeing how it plays out, but there’s no way it can possibly be as frustrating as Isla, Grim, and Oro, so I decided to entertain this anyway, and I am so glad I did. It’s worth it.
Like many true things, this is awful, and hard.
I wish I had gotten to read this book when I was actually a teenager, and I will be recommending it to all the teenagers in my life. Legendborn is a story of grief and pain and love, rooted in real-life trauma. It does what the best fantasy novels of this age do, and uses magic to tell a story highlighting real problems in the world, and does so while unapologetically embracing feminine rage. This is a hauntingly gorgeous book that will stay in my mind for years to come.
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