The Poison Season is an enjoyable, moving novel with overtones of The Grace Year.
Leelo has spent her entire life on Endla, an island with a magical forest and a poison lake. This lake protects them from outsiders even poor birds and animals who know no better. They are hiding their magic which lies in song and those of them who do not have the magic are kicked out of the town as a preteen. Leelo is reeling from losing her brother when she comes across an outsider. She can not bring herself to kill him or bring him into the town. Instead, she decides to hide him and learns about not just the world outside but lies she didn't know about her own home.
Mara Rutherford creates a world where forests can be magic and needs protection from special humans. The magic system is unique. The same can be said of the singing; it is not singing words, it's using our voice as an instrument for music. This has been done a bit in other works but nothing to this extent. The poisoning of the lake will surprise readers too.
Besides the magic, there is a lot to unpack emotionally and psychologically. The “outsider” phenomenon is not new but still brews in the current day making this idea both classical and timely. What makes an outsider bad? Are we really that different? The idea of home is debated. Is home a place? A people? And finally teenage love. This does have an instalove/Stockholm Syndrome aspect to this story. While others will be pushing the romance, I was cheering Leelo on to finding the truth and pushing herself past what she knew.
The Poison Season is one of the best YA stories I have read lately. There is violence yet, but there is a lot of philosophical ideas as well.
Leelo has spent her entire life on Endla, an island with a magical forest and a poison lake. This lake protects them from outsiders even poor birds and animals who know no better. They are hiding their magic which lies in song and those of them who do not have the magic are kicked out of the town as a preteen. Leelo is reeling from losing her brother when she comes across an outsider. She can not bring herself to kill him or bring him into the town. Instead, she decides to hide him and learns about not just the world outside but lies she didn't know about her own home.
Mara Rutherford creates a world where forests can be magic and needs protection from special humans. The magic system is unique. The same can be said of the singing; it is not singing words, it's using our voice as an instrument for music. This has been done a bit in other works but nothing to this extent. The poisoning of the lake will surprise readers too.
Besides the magic, there is a lot to unpack emotionally and psychologically. The “outsider” phenomenon is not new but still brews in the current day making this idea both classical and timely. What makes an outsider bad? Are we really that different? The idea of home is debated. Is home a place? A people? And finally teenage love. This does have an instalove/Stockholm Syndrome aspect to this story. While others will be pushing the romance, I was cheering Leelo on to finding the truth and pushing herself past what she knew.
The Poison Season is one of the best YA stories I have read lately. There is violence yet, but there is a lot of philosophical ideas as well.