Rutabaga's Reads 2023: Part 14

I’m here with my second YA compilation post of the year (cutting it close, I know). Middle-grade seems to be “winning,” but I remain a regular reader of YA novels, too.

Chain of Thorns (Jan. 31, 2023) by Cassandra Clare.

<This is the final novel in a trilogy.>

<Casual spoilers present for those who haven’t read this trilogy.>

Things are dire. Cordelia Carstairs’ father was murdered a few short weeks ago, her marriage to James Herondale seems a sham, her plans to become Lucie’s parabatai razed and, on top of all that, she’s become unwittingly bound to the ancient demon Lilith as her paladin. She can’t fight without summoning Lilith, so she has Alastair, her brother, hide Cortana, the blade that chose her. She flees to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, James’ best friend. The nightlife is glittering and her new wardrobe is daring. Elsewhere, Jesse Blackthorn is fully alive and in his body, and Lucie had a hand in that. James goes to track Lucie first with his dad, Will, and the warlock Magnus Bane. James, now out from under Grace Blackthorn’s (née Cartwright) twisted curse, feels the loss of Cordelia, but doesn’t know how to explain being in Grace’s thrall. He’s also been denying Belial what he wants, which is to possess his body, but can he keep denying Belial indefinitely? The other Merry Thieves aren’t without their secrets, either: Thomas Lightwood loves Alastair who doesn’t get on with James and Matthew at all, and Christopher Lightwood is mostly his science-minded self in his singed clothes, but there is compassion in him, seen when he visits Grace in the Silent City. Anna Lightwood seems all beautiful, sharp features in her tailored menswear, and Ariadne (Ari) Bridgestock has left her parents’ home. She’s living with Anna, whom she loves. Reality intrudes when the group learns that Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and following Belial, a Prince of Hell, laying waste to London looks imminent. The secret that Belial is James’ and Lucie’s grandfather (and their mom’s demon parent) is no longer a secret, and that will throw the Herondale name under suspicion. Things don’t only seem bleak, they are bleak.

            Within the bulky page count of this YA novel are 11 ensemble characters slaying demons, dealing with the raving maniac Tatiana, untangling romantic drama, working through self-loathing, giving into make-out sessions, protecting one another, letting secrets out and finally battling Belial and confronting Lilith. There is some diversity amongst the ensemble and relationships both straight and queer. The trilogy-ending novel is, at turns, dramatic, romantic, dangerous and not without gore, and is all-around a dark fantasy adventure. Clare is there with her characters’ reliable banter and humor to help suffuse the dark tone. The epilogue is mostly tidy, though I have questions about no spoiler here. From funny to fiendish, bleak to bright(ish), the story retains its fantastic world-building.

            Side note: I admit that my interest in the Shadowhunters universe has been waning. While I enjoy Clare’s stories, the bulk of my disinterest comes from the chunky page counts. There are very few authors whose novels I’d happily devour if they were, say, a thousand pages, and Clare isn’t one of them for me. That isn’t to say that I won’t read any other Shadowhunter novels. I expect I still will, if they relate to an ongoing series or include the characters I’ve already come to know. But non-Shadowhunter novels are not on my to-buy list.

            The Last Hours Book 1: Chain of Gold

            The Last Hours Book 2: Chain of Iron

Iron Widow (Sept. 21, 2021) by Xiran Jay Zhao.

<This is the first in a series.>

<A trigger warning is included.>

Welcome to your nightmare, indeed. After her sister is killed (murdered?) in service to a Prince-class pilot, 18-year-old Wu Zetian gussies herself up (i.e. has her unibrow painfully and painstakingly plucked) and enlists as a concubine-pilot. When she is declared to be an Iron Widow by Senior Strategist of the Human Liberation Army Sima Yi – “a girl who sacrifices her male partner to power up Chrysalises” – the Sages make her a partner to the Vermilion Bird’s Li Shimin, age 19. He has top marks, but is no Prince-pilot. He’s the Iron Demon, murderer of his own family. Zetian doesn’t expect to survive long, even as an Iron Widow who could power her own Chrysalis, if only the misogynistic powers-that-be would allow her to. Normally, the girls die from the mental strain of battle, hence the need for many concubine pilots. They are sacrifices, but “girls are naturally weaker pilots!” and “Girls ... know how to sacrifice.” She and Shimin are unexpectedly joined by student strategist Gao Yizhi, stating that he can welcome himself in because he’s “young and rich.” The three will work to discover how the pilot system works in favor of the male pilots, and she’ll make a deal with Yizhi’s rich father, despite knowing he’s holding close non-consensual intel to try to control her. To tame her. But Zetian’s invaluable mental strength and, especially, the raging inferno within her cannot be tamed. And woe to anyone who gets in her way.

            “Up the sword mountain, down the fire sea,” this story is ferocious and brutal. The YA tale is sometimes horrible to read, like, drastically so. The story is bloodthirsty and full of rage – think of a primal scream in book form – with fast pacing, an action-filled plot and fantasy world-building. If you don’t read the story with care, it will beat you up. Wu Zetian is one of the most unapologetic female leads I’ve ever encountered (another is Lada Dracul), bold and brash. This story is thrilling, brutal and unstoppable. Zetian is clearly a feminist in a world with rigid gender roles. Queer themes are incorporated. A sequel is imminent. This forceful, ambitious story contains twists and a cliffhanger ending. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’ll read the sequel. If I do, I’ll check it out from the library instead of purchasing it.

            P.S. The Chrysalises are “giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens (Hunduns) that lurk beyond the Great Wall.”

Queen Bee (Apr. 4, 2023) by Amalie Howard.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Her younger self, Lady Ela Dalvi, the daughter of the Earl of Marwick, is a naïve young lady who’d never dream of taking on the ton, the filthy-rich and lofty, those of the peerage and landed gentry alike. But that 1814 self is no longer the teenager battling acne and wearing Poppy Landers’ throwaway dresses (Poppy’s not a peeress, but her father is a wealthy landowner), her reputation ruined after her former only friend, Poppy, goes the vilest of routes, ruthlessly tearing apart Lady Ela’s reputation. When that happens, Lord Keston (Kes) Osborn, Marquess of Ridley and heir to the Duke of Harbridge, shuns her, tells her off, believing the worst of her. She’d built a friendship with Kes and his younger sister, Lady Zenobia (Zia), but that ends with Poppy’s despicable, vengeful, jealous act. Ela is sent to Hinley Seminary for Girls in Cumbria, about as far northwest as one can get and still be in England. Hinley is a school where girls go to be forgotten. Ela, now E, is bitter and angry, but she makes friends, especially in Church, who’s around 20 years her senior. By 1817, Lady Ela is now Lady Lyra Whitley, presenting herself as Lady Patience Birdie’s companion for London’s social season. She’s blossomed into a beautiful young woman, no longer flat-chested, no acne in sight, with her hair dyed black. She is unrecognizable as the disgraced 15-year-old from Burghfield, Berkshire. Instead, she’s the “newest fortune with legs,” an 18-year-old with a remarkable dowry. But she isn’t in London to enjoy musicales and make friends. She’s there to bring Poppy down. Will her plans for retaliation be stalled when she reunites with Lord Ridley? In this complicated game of real-life chess, there’s only room for one queen bee, and it’s definitely not Poppy.

            Call me Vengeance, because I delight in stories where the bullies get their comeuppance, and in “Queen Bee” the lead character’s purpose is to bring Poppy down. Readers know this from Chapter One. Ah, a Machiavellian plot. Delicious. It’s touted as “an anti-historical Regency romp,” which it is. The years fall within the Regency era, but this YA novel doesn’t exist to be a historical account, even though the author clearly did historical research. It’s of one young woman getting revenge on her backstabbing former best friend as she becomes a diamond of the first water. Howard creates an entertaining exploration of vengeance, forgiveness and women finding agency in a very patriarchal time. It’s sassy, gossipy and dramatic, fast-paced and engaging. The chapters alternate between Ela’s/Lyra’s past and present. Not having read Howard’s novels before, I didn’t know what to expect. But this story is funny and smart. It is a refreshing and enjoyable tale, and I especially love the diversity of the characters (multiple characters are of South Asian, African and East Asian descent).

            Standout lines: ”Sally Price, niece of fun-starved harpies, and future governess of a vainglorious, highfalutin London lady. That’s me.” (p. 227)

            Lines we can all live by: “It means you will keep your opinion and I will keep mine, as we are unable to come to any compromise or agreement. Neither of us is wrong in how we view the world. We are all still learning. Maybe one day, I will come to understand your point of view, and you will come to know mine, but that day is a while away. So ... we agree to disagree.” (--Church to Ela, pp. 156-157)