Forestborn

Rora is a shape-shifter in service to King Gerar, and she has found another dead body in a nearby town, a human felled by a magical sickness. Only humans seem to fall to this strange curse, which brings madness and eventual death to those it touches. Rora's job is to spy around the kingdom and seek out new cases, as well as clues to the curse's origin or cure. When Prince Finley, Rora's best friend and crush, falls ill, Rora fears she and her brother, Helos, will lose the only home they've ever known. Soon after Finley's diagnosis, the king sends Rora, Helos, and Prince Weslyn to the nearby Vale, where they will barter with giants for magical stardust, the only thing that might heal the afflicted. It won't be an easy journey, but the trio will do anything for Finley. Debut author Becker's concrete sense of the world she's created helps ground the far-flung narrative. Hand this one to your Robin McKinley fans.

A Tolkienesque fantasy realm populated with characters of varying skin tones mixes uneasily with modern realpolitik and trauma in this debut. Olive-skinned, wilderness-born shape-shifter--and royal spy--Rora can become a goshawk, a mouse, or a lynx, or wear another person's face. But she is shunned by her neighbors for her powers--and her part in an ominous Prediction. When a carefree prince, her blond, queer best friend, contracts a mysterious and virulent plague, the king assigns Rora and the standoffish elder prince to fetch a powerful miracle cure in the perilous magic-laced land of her birth--and investigate an authoritarian neighbor kingdom's threats of war. Dogged by plague and her own difficult memories, Rora, and her selfless brother Helos, must escort Prince Weslyn across the land that they once desperately fled. But when they uncover a disturbing secret, Rora's shame may stymie her ability to save all she holds dear. Becker's series opener gives its ambitious subject matter an archetypal handling that centers graphic depictions of torture as a mounting pile of threats swings Rora through video game--style landscapes described in a breathless first-person narration. Ages 13--up. (Aug.)

Gr 9 Up--Rora is a shifter, a magical person who can change into whoever she wants, as well as three animal forms. Because of the Prediction that warned of two shifters bringing about death, and a general distrust of those with magic, Rora finds herself scorned by many of the people she encounters. Nevertheless, she dutifully serves the kingdom of Telyan as a spy and gathers information on a new magical disease called the Fallow Throes that is killing humans, but not their magical counterparts. When Finley, Rora's closest friend and one of the crown princes, falls ill with the disease, Rora is tasked with finding a cure…which can only be found in the Vale, the dangerous forest that Rora once called home. As she makes her way through the Vale, she discovers what might be the beginning of a sinister plot to eradicate all of the forestborn and magical beings. This book is both a journey of self-discovery and a survival story. As many of the characters are fighting both the dangers of the Vale and the insurgence of an enemy, readers should be aware that some graphic scenes may be upsetting. The worldbuilding does an excellent job of transporting readers to new lands and introducing them to the diverse cast of characters, who have a variety of skin tones and sexual orientations. Though the writing is strong, the description-heavy passages sometimes hinder the pacing, making for an atmospheric, but at times slow, read. VERDICT An epic high fantasy adventure with highly descriptive worldbuilding that is sure to please fans of the genre but may deter those looking for a fast-paced read.--Myiesha Speight, Towson Univ., Baltimore

A perilous quest takes place amid persecution in this fantasy duology opener. As shifters, Rora and her brother, Helos, can take three animal forms and countless human guises. Although Rora serves the crown of Telyan, the queen's tragic death, a dire prophecy, and growing resentment toward magical people--shifters, whisperers, and forest walkers--leave the siblings feeling unwelcome. Having fled the massacre in Caela Ridge and scrabbled for survival in the magical Vale, both crave a real home. But the continent's magic is restless, and even as humans persecute the forestborn, a magical sickness known as the Fallow Throes infects humans alone. When Finley, a beloved friend, falls ill, Rora, Helos, and Finley's uptight brother, Prince Weslyn, embark on a quest into the wild lands seeking a cure. Increasing the stakes, the trio must also evade the attention of Eradain's genocidal King Jol and stop the world from experiencing another Rupturing. Passing through perilous, enchanted lands with predatory plants and monstrous and magical beasts, Rora also grapples with her traumatic past. The trio's emotional journeys are equally fraught, replete with self-recrimination, romantic woes, and complicated family dynamics. Debut author Becker offers an inventive panoply of beasts and botanicals, painting a phantasmagorical landscape. As shape-shifters, Rora and Helos can change into any human they've met before, but their default forms have olive skin; other characters have a range of skin tones. Commentary on discrimination wrapped in an imaginative high-fantasy quest and political intrigue. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Rora is a shape-shifter in service to King Gerar, and she has found another dead body in a nearby town, a human felled by a magical sickness. Only humans seem to fall to this strange curse, which brings madness and eventual death to those it touches. Rora's job is to spy around the kingdom and seek out new cases, as well as clues to the curse's origin or cure. When Prince Finley, Rora's best friend and crush, falls ill, Rora fears she and her brother, Helos, will lose the only home they've ever known. Soon after Finley's diagnosis, the king sends Rora, Helos, and Prince Weslyn to the nearby Vale, where they will barter with giants for magical stardust, the only thing that might heal the afflicted. It won't be an easy journey, but the trio will do anything for Finley. Debut author Becker's concrete sense of the world she's created helps ground the far-flung narrative. Hand this one to your Robin McKinley fans. Grades 10-12. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

A Tolkienesque fantasy realm populated with characters of varying skin tones mixes uneasily with modern realpolitik and trauma in this debut. Olive-skinned, wilderness-born shape-shifter—and royal spy—Rora can become a goshawk, a mouse, or a lynx, or wear another person's face. But she is shunned by her neighbors for her powers—and her part in an ominous Prediction. When a carefree prince, her blond, queer best friend, contracts a mysterious and virulent plague, the king assigns Rora and the standoffish elder prince to fetch a powerful miracle cure in the perilous magic-laced land of her birth—and investigate an authoritarian neighbor kingdom's threats of war. Dogged by plague and her own difficult memories, Rora, and her selfless brother Helos, must escort Prince Weslyn across the land that they once desperately fled. But when they uncover a disturbing secret, Rora's shame may stymie her ability to save all she holds dear. Becker's series opener gives its ambitious subject matter an archetypal handling that centers graphic depictions of torture as a mounting pile of threats swings Rora through video game–style landscapes described in a breathless first-person narration. Ages 13–up. (Aug.)

Gr 9 Up—Rora is a shifter, a magical person who can change into whoever she wants, as well as three animal forms. Because of the Prediction that warned of two shifters bringing about death, and a general distrust of those with magic, Rora finds herself scorned by many of the people she encounters. Nevertheless, she dutifully serves the kingdom of Telyan as a spy and gathers information on a new magical disease called the Fallow Throes that is killing humans, but not their magical counterparts. When Finley, Rora's closest friend and one of the crown princes, falls ill with the disease, Rora is tasked with finding a cure…which can only be found in the Vale, the dangerous forest that Rora once called home. As she makes her way through the Vale, she discovers what might be the beginning of a sinister plot to eradicate all of the forestborn and magical beings. This book is both a journey of self-discovery and a survival story. As many of the characters are fighting both the dangers of the Vale and the insurgence of an enemy, readers should be aware that some graphic scenes may be upsetting. The worldbuilding does an excellent job of transporting readers to new lands and introducing them to the diverse cast of characters, who have a variety of skin tones and sexual orientations. Though the writing is strong, the description-heavy passages sometimes hinder the pacing, making for an atmospheric, but at times slow, read. VERDICT An epic high fantasy adventure with highly descriptive worldbuilding that is sure to please fans of the genre but may deter those looking for a fast-paced read.—Myiesha Speight, Towson Univ., Baltimore