 |
| Published: 2020 Acquired and read: July 2021 |
Last summer, a former student of mine had to crash in our spare room for a couple days when she fell afoul of a rental scam. A day or two later, she came to me and asked, "Do you have any other books like Minor Mage?" It had been sitting out, either because I had just read it or because I was just about to read it, and she had randomly grabbed it. It had really resonated with her own life, because it was about a child upon whom great burdens were placed before they were ready, due to the failure of adults to discharge their responsibilities. I struggled to come up with something else. She started Kingfisher's Summer in Orcus but didn't really find it hit that tone; she did leave with Frances Hardinge's A Skinful of Shadows, but I'm not sure how that went. Come to think of it, she still has my copy of that.
I need to get in touch with her—not just to get my book back, but also to loan her this one. Kingfisher's newest YA fantasy is my favorite yet, and hits the same notes as Minor Mage, but even better. Mona is a fourteen-year-old apprentice baker, and also a wizard... one whose powers are limited to bread. She can work dough, stop it from burning, and even bring gingerbread men to life; she has a sourdough starter that might be carnivorous. Like most Kingfisher (a.k.a. Ursula Vernon), it's very charming, and laugh out loud. (All the stuff involving the toilet was amazing.) But it's also sad and depressing; Mona's society lets her down in some really big ways, and she has to step in and fill the gap even though it ought not be her responsibility. The use of magic is clever and interesting, and I genuinely teared up a little bit near the end. I've read four of the six 2021 Lodestar Award finalists so far, and this is still the one to beat.
No comments:
Post a Comment