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The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta

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Set in a magical Italian-inspired land, Capetta’s high fantasy tackles gender identity and family loyalty. Teodora DiSangro is the daughter of a powerful man who controls a large swath of Vinalia. Vinalia is made up of five loosely connected lands each controlled by a member of the Five Families. The Capo, a man quickly rising to power in Vinalia, wants to join the disparate lands under one rule: his. He sends poisoned letters to the leaders of the five families, which kills most of them and gravely wounds Teo’s father. The Capo demands that a male representative of each family travel to his palace, where he will likely demand their fealty.

Rather than send the eldest boy in the family, Teo’s stepmother (not of the evil variety) elects to send Teo’s younger brother as representative, knowing that the elder is cruel and unsuitable for wielding power. But these plans go awry, and Teo finds herself needing to be the representative herself. Luckily for her, she is a strega: a witch/sorcerer/magic user. Most Vinalians believe streghe don’t exist, but Teo has been using her particular ability to change people into other objects – a punishment for those who cross her father – without anyone’s knowledge for years. And now Teo must perform an even greater change: transforming herself into a boy so she can fool the Capo, find the antidote for the poison, save her father’s life, and somehow prevent the Capo from taking over all of Vinalia.

Luckily, Teo befriends Cielo, a non-binary strega who can change their sex at will. Cielo teaches Teo how to change her body so it will pass as a boy’s in front of the Capo, and that’s when the adventure really gets rolling. Capetta herself identifies as non-binary, so it’s no surprise she has a deft touch with the gender identity issues she explores within the characters of Cielo, who has always seen themselves to be non-binary, and Teo, who comes to appreciate both aspects of her identity and both versions of her body. There’s romance between the two teens as well, which develops slowly and sweetly and authentically. I recommend reading Capetta’s interview with her partner, Cori McCarthy, at the B&N Teen Blog for more detail about the gender identity aspects of her story.

Beyond the gender identity exploration, though, Capetta’s plot also includes intricate political machinations, lies and betrayals, dangerous magic, and the explosive secret behind the “brilliant death” itself. It’s full of excitement, action, twists, and a decent amount of introspection and heartbreak as well. Her characters are well-drawn, and teens will easily empathize with Teo and want her to succeed despite the impossible situation she finds herself in.

Narrator Carlotta Brendan does a great Italian accent (at least to my non-Italian ears) and slightly voices each of the characters, adding to the texture of the story and helping it to come alive. I don’t think I’ve read another YA fantasy that feels this Italian. Capetta’s family is from Italy and she researched for five years, which shows in the details and believability of the world-building. This is a first recommendation for teens who love high fantasy and might want something a bit different from the usual fare.

“For Fans of THE HANDMAID’S TALE” Is This Year’s YA Marketing Darling

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Every year, it seems, there is a book or a movie that a number of new books find themselves compared to. For a long time, we were seeing everything compared to John Green or Rainbow Rowell. That’s certainly waned — and it feels even weirdly dated when it does pop up.

Fortunately, 2019 has a new popular catchphrase for YA books. They’re all being compared to The Handmaid’s Tale. More specifically, books featuring a compelling female lead (see: “strong female character”) is being thusly named as great for fans of Atwood’s classic. The rise in the show’s popularity makes this no surprise, but it is becoming not only overwhelming to see on book after book, but it’s becoming meaningless, too. Do people genuinely become fans of the book or are they intrigued/disgusted/frustrated by the realities it showcases?

I’ve pulled together all of the books I’ve seen so far either compared to The Handmaid’s Tale in official marketing — press releases, ARC jackets, descriptions — or in their “meets” pitches from official marketing. These are 2019 books only. I know there are more out there, so if you know another one or two getting that billing this year, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Descriptions from Amazon. Not all of these descriptions, which are publisher descriptions, contain the comp, but many of them do.

 

Eve of Man by Giovanna Fletcher and Tom Fletcher (June 18)

Scythe meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this gripping new dystopian trilogy written by UK-bestselling authors Tom and Giovanna Fletcher.

On the first day, no one really noticed. All those babies wrapped in blue blankets–not a pink one in sight. On the third day, people were scared–a statistic-defying abundance of blue. Not just entire hospitals, not only entire countries, but the entire world. Boys. Only boys.

Until Eve. The only girl born in fifty years. The savior of mankind. Kept protected, towering above a ruined world under a glass dome of safety until she is ready to renew the human race.

But when the time comes to find a suitor, Eve and Bram–a young man whose job is to prepare Eve for this moment–begin to question the plan they’ve known all along. Eve doesn’t only want safety, and she doesn’t only want protection. She wants the truth. She wants freedom.

 

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this start to a thrilling, subversive near future series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young about a girls-only private high school that is far more than it appears to be.

Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests.

But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.

Bringing the trademark plot twists and high-octane drama that made The Program a bestselling and award-winning series, Suzanne Young launches a new series that confronts some of today’s most pressing ethical questions.

 

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis (No cover or release date yet)

Good Luck Girls was pitched as “The Handmaid’s Tale meets Thelma and Louise in an alternate Wild West setting.” The novel, which is slated for fall 2019, follows five girls who, Hellegers explained, “escape from the ‘welcome house’ that owns them and embark on a dangerous journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge.”

 

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart (out in paperback this year, with a sequel to come in July)

Bold, brutal, and beautiful–a must-read fantasy full of fierce sisterhood, action, and political intrigue for fans of The Selection series, Caraval, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Serina Tessaro has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace–someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. It’s her chance to secure a better life for her family, and to keep her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, out of trouble. But when Nomi catches the Heir’s eye instead, Serina is the one who takes the fall for the dangerous secret her sister has been hiding.
Trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one option: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to save Serina. But this is easier said than done…. A traitor walks the halls of the palazzo, and deception lurks in every corner.
Meanwhile Serina is running out of time. Imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive, surrounded by women stronger than she is, one wrong move could cost her everything. There is no room for weakness on Mount Ruin, especially weaknesses of the heart.
Thrilling and captivating, Grace and Fury is a story of fierce sisterhood, and of survival in a world that’s determined to break you.

 

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (September 17)

A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture!

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life―a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.

 

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Rebellions are built on hope.

 
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards.
Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren (June 25)

A compelling novel about speaking out, standing up, and breaking free — perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Tara Westover’s Educated.

Miriam lives in New Jerusalem, a haven in the desert far away from the sins and depravity of the outside world. Within the gates of New Jerusalem, and under the eye of its founder and leader, Daniel, Miriam knows she is safe. Cared for. Even if she’s forced, as a girl, to quiet her tongue when she has thoughts she wants to share, Miriam knows that New Jerusalem is a far better life than any alternative. So when God calls for a Matrimony, she’s thrilled; she knows that Caleb, the boy she loves, will choose her to be his wife and they can finally start their life together.

But when the ceremony goes wrong and Miriam winds up with someone else, she can no longer keep quiet. For the first time, Miriam begins to question not only the rules that Daniel has set in place, but also what it is she believes in, and where she truly belongs.

Alongside unexpected allies, Miriam fights to learn–and challenge–the truth behind the only way of life she’s ever known, even if it means straying from the path of Righteousness.

 

We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

In this daring and romantic fantasy debut perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Taleand Latinx authors Zoraida Córdova and Anna-Marie McLemore, society wife-in-training Dani has a great awakening after being recruited by rebel spies and falling for her biggest rival.

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class.

Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society.

And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio.

Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

 

Rule by Ellen Goodlett

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Goodlett brings teens a fast-paced high fantasy thriller about three girls from very different backgrounds within the fictional country of Kolonya: a Traveler (similar in description to the Romany people), a palace maid with higher aspirations, and a girl from a far-flung and almost forgotten section of the kingdom who is desperate to escape her abusive father. All three are brought to the King’s court in to learn that they are his illegitimate daughters and, now that the king’s only heir has died, must compete to earn the right to inherit the throne.

It’s a tremendous shock for all three, of course. At least one of the girls thought she knew her biological father already. But this is no ordinary story of competition a la The Hunger Games. Each girl has a deep, dark secret, and each begins receiving threatening messages – some in blood – soon after they arrive at the palace. The secrets are dark indeed, involving a copious amount of betrayal, death, and blood magic. The blood magic is an interesting world-building choice: all magic is done by cutting oneself to “tithe” blood, and some of it is done frequently and is a part of everyday life in Kolonya. But some blood magic is forbidden because of its effects, and it’s this blood magic that is most relevant and interesting. Initially a bit confusing, particularly the good magic vs. the bad magic, the magic system grows clearer as the novel progresses.

Rather than fall into the easy trope of having the girls willingly pit themselves against each other, Goodlett refreshingly has her characters do the opposite: join forces and work together to ferret out the blackmailer. Told in alternating close third person points of view, each girl’s voice is distinct and their predicaments sympathetic. Their interactions with each other – one girl’s assumptions of another, for example – illuminate how each is perceived by the public at large, often in a very different light from how we as readers first see them during their own close POVs. It’s a handy writing technique that reinforces the notion that people are, of course, more than what appears on the surface. Once the girls realize this about each other, they become a force to be reckoned with.

I listened to the audiobook version, and it’s a pretty good production with three narrators: Bahni Turpin, Lisa Flanagan, and Soneela Nankani. Turpin’s voice is always a standout, but I did have trouble distinguishing Flanagan’s and Nankani’s from each other. However, Goodlett’s mastery of her characters’ voices is good enough that I could pick up on the POV quickly anyway.

While many readers (including myself) may be frustrated by the ending, which resolves close to nothing, the story is gripping throughout. A planned duology, wise readers may want to wait to pick up this volume until the concluding volume is released in June (less than a year after the first book’s publication, much to my delight). This is a good pick for fans of Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns, which never stays on the shelf for long at my library.

February #RiotGrams Round-up

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One of my favorite projects for my job at Book Riot is running the tri-annual #RiotGrams Instagram challenge. Three times a year for one month, I develop a series of daily prompts that encourage sharing and highlighting favorite books and reading-related habits. Over the course of doing this now for a few years, I’ve found so many great new books and made some excellent connections with other book lovers, both during the challenge and well after, with roundups like this one.

I did a bit of traveling in February this year, so I implemented a new method that I think worked even better than taking the photos for each of the prompts on the same day. It can be overwhelming and cause creative burnout to take 28 unique photos in a single day. This time, I took them a week at a time, when I had the time and creative zest. That made traveling easier, too, since I had everything on my phone already to upload and share. As you’ll see, too, I found ways to incorporate that very travel into #Riotgrams.

If you’ve always wanted to take part in a fun Instagram book challenge like this, keep your eyes peeled. There will be another one come June. Captions for the images note the prompt theme of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a bonus, a few other bookish snaps from February worth sharing: