Title: Legendborn
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: 2020
Length: 506 pages, 18 hours & 54 minutes audio
Series: The Legendborn Cycle, Book #1
Geographical Setting: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Time Period: Present Day
Plot Summary: 16-year-old Bree Matthews is attending the University of North Carolina's Early College program to escape the memories of her mother's death. On her first night in Chapel Hill, she witnesses a magical attack and meets another teenager calling himself a "Merlin" who attempts to wipe her memories of the attack. Bree quickly discovers she could break the memory magic and accidentally unlocks a memory from the night of her mother's death - recognizing that someone else tried to wipe her memory that night, too. She soon meets Nick, a Legendborn who wants nothing to do with it, Bree throws herself into his world to search for answers about how her mother really died. She soon realizes that Legendborns, and the mysterious "Merlin," are descendants of the famous mythological figures King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the wizard Merlin. And they are all trying to stop a vicious, magical war against the Shadowborn demons that is looming over them. Bree has to decide how far she's willing to go to find the answers she seeks about her mother and her heritage and if she's willing to help the new Legendborn friends she's made in the oncoming deadly war, all while trying to navigate the grief over her mother, the casual (and intentional) racism she encounters daily, and the generational trauma she begins to understand she inherited.
Content Warnings: car accident, death of a parent, depictions of grief, mentions and minor depictions of slavery and rape, mild gore, mind control/memory manipulation, racism (both micro- and macro-aggressions), violence
- African American teenagers - Fiction
- College Stories
- College students - Fiction
- Demonology - Fiction
- Magic - Fiction
- North Carolina - Fiction
- Secret Societies - Fiction
- Young adult fiction
Appeal (As an adventure and fantasy novel, this is discussed based on Wyatt & Saricks, 2019):
- Tone - Largely dark in tone, often has a grim and gritty outlook with violent scenes throughout, has the weighty theme of racism and generational trauma
- Story line - While trying to figure out what really happened to her mom and what is happening to her, Bree finds herself in a "rich story full of complications, excitement, danger, loss, and triumph." (p. 126). There is triumph at the conclusion of Legendborn, but as a series spanning four novels, the final triumph has not yet arrived.
- Pacing - With elements of adrenaline genre, Legendborn is fast paced, readers are thrust right into the action along with Bree.
3 Terms to Describe this Book
- Emotional
- Exciting
- Gripping
*Some Spoilers Below*
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
- Once and Future by A. R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy - strong, female protagonist, action-packed and fast paced, similar structure with placing the Arthurian myth in a fantasy setting and gender-bends the reincarnation of Arthur
- A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney - features a strong, female protagonist who has to navigate a magical world plus everyday racism, plot and storyline inspired by a classic story, similar setting of a US Southern city
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - dark academia theme, a modern/urban fantasy plot, complex characters, atmospheric
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
- How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones - compelling writing style, story of a young, black man growing up in a southern US state
- The Burden of Heritage: Hauntings of a Generational Trauma on Black Lives by Aileen Alleyne - delves into the theme of generational trauma on US black lives which Bree works to unpack as she falls into the Legendborn world
- Romance of the Grail: The Magic and Mystery of Arthurian Myth by Joseph Campbell - focuses on the mythology and magic of King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table
Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd ed.). ALA Editions.
This has long been on my TBR list but I keep putting it off because of the length. I'm glad to hear that it is a fast-paced read! You provided an excellent summary of this book that makes me even more excited to read it!
ReplyDeleteIt is 100% a fast-paced read! I flew through this book, and the second one. If you're anything like me, though, and have a million series you're waiting for the next book to come out and you hate waiting - keep waiting to read this. The second book ended so well that I am FURIOUS (but not really) that I have to wait until January 2025 for book three and then even longer for book four. But I highly recommend it!! I LOVED it.
DeleteI've read the Once & Future duology and absolutely loved it!! If this is a read alike for those, it must be amazing! It's so fun to see different reimaginings of classic legends like Arthur and Merlin. I'll definitely be adding this to my TBR!
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