Starred review from January 1, 2023
Gr 7 Up-In the land of Raddith, anger and hate left to fester in a person's heart form a "curse egg" and those who carry curse eggs can wreak havoc on the lives of those around them. Everyone who isn't a curser is vulnerable to being cursed for real or imagined slights; every interaction with a stranger can turn dangerous quickly. Kellen, who possesses a mysterious ability to "unravel" these curses by finding their source and cause, and his companion Nettle, a girl who was cursed to be a heron until Kellen saved her, are hired to unravel a very specific curse by a strange marsh horseman named Gall. However, as they traverse the curse-ridden and creature-filled woods known as the Wilds, it becomes increasingly clear that whatever has given Kellen the power to unravel curses must be reversed before he unravels himself and everyone else. Characteristically lush and transportive descriptions accompany a rapidly paced, consistently suspenseful plot, keeping readers firmly planted in the land of Raddith from beginning to end. Hardinge again displays her knack for imbuing mythological-feeling tales with casts of creatures and characters who are fully realized and impeccably described, rendered in astonishing detail while carefully avoiding verbosity. Introspective realizations, the processing of uncomfortable feelings, and the importance of knowing and understanding oneself are continual throughlines in the narrative, along with the insidious effects of allowing fury and hate to grow unchecked. VERDICT Another deeply atmospheric, compulsively readable yet utterly unsettling offering from Hardinge. Highly recommended for all libraries serving teens.-Allie Stevens
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2023
Grades 6-9 A temperamental peace exists between the Chancery and the Wilds, that untamed territory that houses magic and strange creatures--chief among them the Little Brothers, spiderlike beings that can protect or spread curses to the humans who cross their paths. Both Kellen and Nettle have experiences with curses: Nettle as one formerly cursed, and Kellen as the one who lifted her curse with his rare gift of unravelling. They make an unlikely pair, but Nettle's calm and rational demeanor helps temper Kellen's rash, impulsive tendencies--sometimes. The two earn a living by unravelling curses around the Chancery, but when Kellen's mouthiness lands them in prison (again), they are freed by an anonymous individual who requires Kellen's services. Hardinge's immersive world building and layered plot pull readers into an adventure full of mystery, treachery, political machinations, and danger. At the heart of the story is its examination of anger versus hate and the social systems in place for dealing with those who commit crimes as a result of mistreatment or circumstance. A thought-provoking pick for tweens.
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Starred review from October 15, 2022
In a land where curses are real and binding, a young weaver discovers that teasing them apart is wrapped in unexpected consequences. Hardinge has a rare gift for crafting strange and original worlds, and here she's in top form as she chucks two teenagers into webs of deadly magic and conspiracy in Raddith, where curse eggs are illegal but readily available to be cast by anyone out of spite or hatred. The journey takes rude, ill-tempered Kellen, whose unique talent for unravelling affects not only curses, but any woven garment or item in his vicinity, and his constant (in every sense) companion Nettle, seemingly "meek and inoffensive if you didn't know her," from the populous capital of Mizzleport to swampy wilds haunted by terrifying creatures to eldritch Moonlit Market (where everything, including memories and daydreams, is vulnerable). The author gradually brings Kellen (and readers) to an understanding that curses are not always undeserved, that those who bestow them may be damaged but are not invariably evil, and that perhaps we all have the capability to control the hatred that fuels them. Along with weaving in frequent desperate straits and near brushes with disaster, she embroiders her tale with memorable lines; a romantic subplot involving a rider bonded to a demonic horse and, by the end, even more so to his loving husband; and a cast of characters who are memorably distinct. The cast presents White. Brightening toward the end, frightening throughout, psychologically acute. (Fantasy. 12-18)
COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.