Horn Book Review
As a member of the Half Kith (the lowest, most oppressed caste in society), Nirrim is focused on avoiding the notice of the militia, who extract tithes of blood, hair, and teeth from Half Kith they claim have broken laws. When a magical bird flies into the Ward, Nirrim is arrested trying to return it to the militia. She ends up in jail with a charismatic scofflaw named Sid, whom she mistakes for male. Sid gets her out of jail (at which point Nirrim realizes her mistake). Now no longer content with her unadventurous, risk-averse life, she forges herself a passport, goes along with Sid, and together they make a compact to discover the source of the magic the High Kith get to use. Soon, Nirrim falls for Sid. The mysterious connection between magic and the tithes is spun out with excellent suspense, which, along with the assured writing and wealth of fantasy invention, will keep readers avidly turning pages, while the romance (including Nirrim's internalized homophobia) has enough twists to be both sensational and satisfying. Nirrim's foster mother's "love" will ring alarm bells for anyone who's known an abusive relationship; meanwhile, Nirrim's progression from timid victim to dogged activist unfolds powerfully. Don't expect a happily-ever-after from Rutkoski (the Winner's trilogy, set in this same world), but do grasp at the remaining loose ends in hope of a sequel. Anita L. Burkam May/June 2020 p.131(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Memory and illusion, truth and liesall paths lead to heartbreak in this first of a fantasy duology."It is as it is." That's always the response in isolated Herrath when anyone questions the oppressive caste system. Once that was enough for Nirrim, who is plagued by visions of a different past; but after meeting the cocky, nosy, and confusingly attractive traveler Sid, Nirrim discovers how dangerous it can be to want. Set some 20 years later in the same world as Rutkoski's acclaimed The Winner's Trilogy, the baroque (almost purple) prose begins in medias res, which Nirrim's naively unreliable narration does little to clarify. Although clever and kind, her passivity and desperate neediness make brown-skinned, green-eyed Nirrim an atypical YA heroine. While fans of the earlier books will easily guess her secrets, dark-eyed, fair-haired Sid presents at first as careless, arrogant, and as confident in her sexuality as Nirrim is shocked by Sid's attraction to other women. But this facade eventually proves to be another "midnight lie": a truth intended to mislead. When their almost instantaneous mutual desire develops quickly into a prickly friendship and (discreetly) consummated romance, both acknowledge it cannot last. Yet the relationship's developmentcombined with the genuinely shocking revelation of Herrath's historyleads Nirrim to a horrific choiceone that will leave readers clamoring for the next entry. Lush, swoony, painful, enraging, and as cathartic as a good cry. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
