Throughout the years, I’ve read a lot of stories about the fae. But this book had me learning things I had never considered before.
Just before the actual story starts, this book has a little note talking about the real world equivalents to some of the topics discussed. Namely, that folklorists have assumed changelings are a way for people to describe autistic children.
Throughout this book, its very obvious to tell that this author is leaning into this comparison. In one section in particular, a man tells a crowd that changelings should die solely because they are “different”, which is something often used against autistic children as well. In a sea of voices, one person speaks up on the side of changelings/autistic children, proclaiming they didn’t choose to be born that way and therefore should not die for their differences, yet there is a large majority of people who would rather murder a child than make room for individuality.
The plot itself follows Seelie and her twin sister, Isolde, as they attempt to steal from a mansion on a busy holiday night. There are many things that go wrong during their “heist”, eventually ending with the two joining with two other thieves to follow a compass that ends up being embedded in Seelie’s hand to a treasure.
I really enjoyed a lot of the writing style in this book. This author has a very good grasp on foreshadowing, as there were often times where a small detail I hadn’t paid much attention to came back in a very big way. Even details I was paying attention to and thought I could figure out ended up surprising me in the end when they popped up in a different way than I expected!
I also really loved how there was a character in this book who ends up disfigured by magic. Without too many spoilers into the scene, the character ends up unable to heal their wounds and left permanently scarred by a mistake, which I really appreciated. Too many books have characters who are seriously injured by magic, only to be healed of any and all scars just so they can remain “beautiful”, and I really appreciated how this book wasn’t scared to keep the consequences of a character’s actions.
This book ends with a lot more questions than answers, gearing readers up for a sequel, and I’m definitely excited to see the continuation of these characters’ journeys once it comes out! I highly recommend picking this book up once it comes out, as I’m sure a lot of readers out there will really love it!
Just before the actual story starts, this book has a little note talking about the real world equivalents to some of the topics discussed. Namely, that folklorists have assumed changelings are a way for people to describe autistic children.
Throughout this book, its very obvious to tell that this author is leaning into this comparison. In one section in particular, a man tells a crowd that changelings should die solely because they are “different”, which is something often used against autistic children as well. In a sea of voices, one person speaks up on the side of changelings/autistic children, proclaiming they didn’t choose to be born that way and therefore should not die for their differences, yet there is a large majority of people who would rather murder a child than make room for individuality.
The plot itself follows Seelie and her twin sister, Isolde, as they attempt to steal from a mansion on a busy holiday night. There are many things that go wrong during their “heist”, eventually ending with the two joining with two other thieves to follow a compass that ends up being embedded in Seelie’s hand to a treasure.
I really enjoyed a lot of the writing style in this book. This author has a very good grasp on foreshadowing, as there were often times where a small detail I hadn’t paid much attention to came back in a very big way. Even details I was paying attention to and thought I could figure out ended up surprising me in the end when they popped up in a different way than I expected!
I also really loved how there was a character in this book who ends up disfigured by magic. Without too many spoilers into the scene, the character ends up unable to heal their wounds and left permanently scarred by a mistake, which I really appreciated. Too many books have characters who are seriously injured by magic, only to be healed of any and all scars just so they can remain “beautiful”, and I really appreciated how this book wasn’t scared to keep the consequences of a character’s actions.
This book ends with a lot more questions than answers, gearing readers up for a sequel, and I’m definitely excited to see the continuation of these characters’ journeys once it comes out! I highly recommend picking this book up once it comes out, as I’m sure a lot of readers out there will really love it!