A review by booksthatburn
Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman

adventurous reflective 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

Any book which depicts changelings in the traditional sense, with children stolen from the cradle and a faerie put in their place, leaving behind a child who speaks too well, and knows too much, but has trouble adjusting to the human world... such stories must grapple with the striking similarity that this basic description has to an allistic parent seeing their autistic child and misunderstanding them or being disturbed by their existence. Rather than merely acknowledging this fantastical descriptor of what are most likely real autistic children through history, UNSEELIE embraces it, centering on an autistic, changeling protagonist. Iselia, "Seelie", is loved by her family, knows who she is, and finds herself on an adventure with her human sister after the prejudice of their neighbors forced them to leave their parents behind and start a new life. 

The story opens with a heist gone wrong forcing them to team up with a couple of people who want Seelie to help them accomplish their goals. Seelie is trying to deal with more magic than she's ever had in her life while staying focused on her goal of fixing things and getting back to their parents. Unfortunately it seems like everyone else has a different goal in mind, and eventually things come to a head. As the first book of a duology, UNSEELIE  resolve several of its major plot threads and establishes a new paradigm for the sequel to resolve. I like the main characters and I'm excited to see where the sequel goes.
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