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A review by dlberglund
Valiant by Holly Black
3.0
At first, I was disappointed to learn that I had again starred listening to a book that was the second in a series, however, I don't believe it is necessary to read the first to understand the second. It seems they are set in the same universe, but Valiant is not a direct sequel of Tithe.
The beginning of the story was quite problematic. Early on, A jarring event occurs that propels our anti-hero Val into voluntary teenage homelessness in New York City. The whole situation strikes me as so ridiculous, illegal, and unsympathetic. I can forgive no one involved, and I was sure I wasn't going to care about a character who was surrounded by such turds. Surprisingly, Val grew on me, and I even forgave one of the characters her weaknesses by the end of the book.
Val is pulled into a borderland between fairy tales and what we know as reality. She accepts quickly that there are trolls and mermaids and all manner of unnamed creatures, most of whom would prefer to eat humans than interact with them. She also is quickly drawn into a life that revolves around getting the next fix of her chosen drug, in a not-at-all-subtle magical fairy medicine metaphor. By the end, I believed in Prince Valiant and the web of unreality around her. I don't know what the future could look like for her, but it was worth the read.
(Review based on the audiobook.)
The beginning of the story was quite problematic. Early on, A jarring event occurs that propels our anti-hero Val into voluntary teenage homelessness in New York City. The whole situation strikes me as so ridiculous, illegal, and unsympathetic. I can forgive no one involved, and I was sure I wasn't going to care about a character who was surrounded by such turds. Surprisingly, Val grew on me, and I even forgave one of the characters her weaknesses by the end of the book.
Val is pulled into a borderland between fairy tales and what we know as reality. She accepts quickly that there are trolls and mermaids and all manner of unnamed creatures, most of whom would prefer to eat humans than interact with them. She also is quickly drawn into a life that revolves around getting the next fix of her chosen drug, in a not-at-all-subtle magical fairy medicine metaphor. By the end, I believed in Prince Valiant and the web of unreality around her. I don't know what the future could look like for her, but it was worth the read.
(Review based on the audiobook.)