Teen Review by Skye B., 17Roseanne A. Brown tells a rich tale of two radically different characters and their intertwined stories in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, a story of family, magic, strange creatures, and deep history. The story begins with Malik, a young man who has faced many difficulties in life and is ripe with anxiety. We not only follow Malik’s nervous journey to save a loved one, full of twists and turns surprising both the reader and Malik himself, but we’re also introduced to Karina, the Crown Princess of Ziran. Unlike Malik, Karina is born into luxury, yet her life has been full of grief and loss, despite being surrounded by constant wealth. We follow their intertwined story over the span of one single week in which Solstasia takes place, one of the most important festivals to the Kingdom of Ziran, only occurring every 45 years. Each day is packed with a different celebration meant to honor the gods, but the main event of them all is the champion competition. The only thing Malik and Karina have in common is their desire to save a loved one, both of them willing to do anything, even murder another human being. Brown does an amazing job of creating characters with complex personalities and deep family histories. I find Malik the most interesting character, and personally one of my favorites, as he is a main character full of anxiety, something we don’t often see in the fantasy genre. This makes Malik feel more real and relatable as the reader sees how he experiences the same problems we do in real life. Not only does Brown create relatable characters, but she also creates the world of Sonande, which is full of lore, kingdoms, and different languages. This aspect made the book especially fascinating to me, as the world Brown has created is so well thought out that I still want to learn more about it. Additionally, this is Brown’s first book ever published and is inspired by Northern and Western African mythology. There were many times I had to look up a certain creature or aspect of folklore, and in reading this book I truly feel like I was pushed to learn more. I would definitely recommend A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown to anyone that enjoys fantasy fiction, as it tells quite the memorable story. Personally, I can’t wait for the next book to be published! Read-alikes REFERENCES
CIN Catalog. (2020). Retrieved from: https://catalog.cin.bywatersolutions.com/ Goodreads [Cover Images]. (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/ NoveList Plus: Displacement [Genre/Themes and Read-alikes]. (2020). Retrieved from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=neh&tg=UI&an=10896181&site=novp-live&custid=s5664038 Overdrive Catalog. (2020). Retrieved from: https://cin.overdrive.com/ Roseanne A. Brown [Author's Official Website]. (2020). Retrieved from: https://roseanneabrown.com/ Skye B. (2020, September). Teen Review.
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