Reviews with content warning for Racism - Rust in the Root

Justina Ireland has done it again. As in her previous series, the world building is top-notch, with constant references to real-world events encountered through the lens of her own alternate history. For example, the Great Rust stood in for the events immediately preceding and concurrent with our own Great Depression. While obviously nothing quite so magical had happened in our own world, the impact on the economy and mental state of the country was similar. Some of the references were jarring. For example, when I neared the end and a character described having seen a tree with "strange fruit" hanging, I stopped reading for a second and said, oh no. It was most definitely a Billie Holiday reference, and the author did not pull punches with the eventual depiction of said tree.

The magic system was interesting as well, though I feel that the

Spoiler

"cool protagonist kids can use every power, unlike the boring people who only use one type of magic"

theme has been done before in YA. Maybe that wasn't what the author was going for, but it was unclear, because most of the characters spent the majority of the book barely able to use their magic. We hardly got to see anyone other than our main character ravel! I would've liked to explore deeper, especially at the intersections between types of magic.

I enjoyed the way the story was told, alternating traditional chapters with fragments of mission reports, diary entries, and so on. The scrapbook pages, however, did not work for me. They were very interesting photos, and I can see why they were inspiring for the author, but they felt shoehorned in. I've seen this gimmick used before to better effect(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children(the first one) immediately comes to mind), so it overall fell flat for me. I think I might have appreciated it more presented as an appendix of sorts, rather than integrated with the story.

I was appreciative of the casual queerness in this book. The main character is sapphic, but doesn't have a romantic side plot, she just is that way even though it "doesn't matter" to the story. This is something you'll sometimes see with straight characters but it's more rare for queer characters, especially in YA. There's also two secondary characters who are gay men in a relationship together.

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pagelikebooks's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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The worldbuilding is jam-packed, with slim room for the characters to actually do or say anything. It’s clearly well-researched, but feels determined to name-drop as many historical events as possible with their corresponding magic twist in this chronology.

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purplepenning's review

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I'm in awe of the intelligence and organized creativity here! It's an alt-history fantasy with mystery and horror elements in service to a story about exploitation, industrialization, strength, community, and social justice. Very cool magical system based on West African and Caribbean traditions, clever magical interpretation of mechanization and industrialization, great use of historical organization and political structures, well-drawn characters that feel true to the time but relevantly contemporary, plus there be dragons!

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utopiastateofmind's review

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Rust in the Root is like historical fiction meets fantasy in an explosion of color and magic. I sincerely love all of Justina's world building premises. Immediately I fell in love with the atmosphere. The ways in which racism exists in this context combined with the magic and fledgling dreams. Ireland takes our world and weaves a spell within it to use fantasy as a lens to discuss oppression and privilege. It's one that shimmers and glistens with magic, but also has a shadowed side of racism and prejudice.

From the beginning, Rust in the Root has this intriguing time jump where there are certain chapters which seem to be from the future. And the whole time you ask yourself, "how did they get to this and what happened". As the book progresses, you begin to ask yourself about the reliability of narratives and the 'truth'. As a core in Rust in the Root, Ireland asks us to question how magic can be a gift and also exploited. The ways in which magic inherently is a tool and it's how we - as fallible humans - use it.

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betweentheshelves's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

In 1937, America is divided in two. Those who work with the mystical arts and those that don’t. Laura Ann Langston happens to be someone who works with the mystical arts, but has been having a difficult time landing a job to get her license. Because the country believes that the future is in mechomancy, not the mystical arts.

At her wits end, Laura applies for a position at the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps. A Corps dedicated to everything Laura is against. A mage named Skylark takes Laura on as an apprentice, as a last resort. They embark on their first mission: fixing a dangerous Blight in Ohio. Little do they know that this mission will change the future forever.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of Rust in the Root to review! Justina Ireland is the queen of writing alternate history with a little bit of fantasy, and this book is no different! If you’re looking to add a little bit of magic to your history, this book is for you.

Ireland has created a very intricate world of magic for this book, and I found it fascinating. There are so many different layers, and they are revealed slowly throughout the book. There are also photos and pieces of reports included throughout the book, which give it a kind of documentary kind of feel. The overall structure and world building was spot on, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Justina Ireland.

The pacing does lag a bit in parts of the book. It feels like there could be potential for Ireland continuing this as a series in the future. Unfortunately, it makes the end feel a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the book. Besides that, I loved everything else. The characters, especially Skylark and Laura. Their dynamic was great and really helped to make an interesting world even better.

All in all, you’ll definitely want to dive into Ireland’s latest book if you love history, magic, and maybe a little breaking the rules.
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Ireland's fantasy re-imaginings of the past are always so well done. You get hints of US history filled with magic and mythical creatures, at least in this one. Stay tuned for a full review to come!

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