Trigger warnings: depictions of police brutality, mentions of homophobia
River City is a place where magic used to thrive. Where Kings and Heroes, Maidens and monsters, and witches lived before a revolution that rendered these people obsolete. But decades later River City brings together four young people destined to bring magic back.
This was a book I was super excited for. I loved the collision of our modern world mixed with a magical one. How monsters live there life and just want to exist. The writing was distinct to each character that we followed especially when it came to Jesse's fluidity and how Turing perceived herself as opposed to how others did.
However, I love reading reviews as I go to see how others reacted to the book. And what I saw had me stopping in my tracks for a bit. Since this was my first Rose Szabo novel, I picked it back up and finished it. There were moments, and particularly one moment, that caused me to put the book down due to the violence inflicted upon the characters. But at the same time, that made it feel realistic. We live in a world where many black men are racially profiled and sometimes by people we thought we could trust.
And the author doesn't try to shy away from that. Jack is always portrayed as an asshole, but one with morals. So yes, it was absolutely devastating that she would falsely accuse David in order to save a loved one. Even she believes she's the true monster of the story.
There were some moments where I was confused as to what was going on in the story. I wanted more about the revolution and even about the scientists. But that was due to me thinking this was a standalone.
Ultimately this book should be geared towards older teens and placed in New Adult. It covers heavier topics in its pages than most expect from YA.
River City is a place where magic used to thrive. Where Kings and Heroes, Maidens and monsters, and witches lived before a revolution that rendered these people obsolete. But decades later River City brings together four young people destined to bring magic back.
This was a book I was super excited for. I loved the collision of our modern world mixed with a magical one. How monsters live there life and just want to exist. The writing was distinct to each character that we followed especially when it came to Jesse's fluidity and how Turing perceived herself as opposed to how others did.
However, I love reading reviews as I go to see how others reacted to the book. And what I saw had me stopping in my tracks for a bit. Since this was my first Rose Szabo novel, I picked it back up and finished it. There were moments, and particularly one moment, that caused me to put the book down due to the violence inflicted upon the characters. But at the same time, that made it feel realistic. We live in a world where many black men are racially profiled and sometimes by people we thought we could trust.
And the author doesn't try to shy away from that. Jack is always portrayed as an asshole, but one with morals. So yes, it was absolutely devastating that she would falsely accuse David in order to save a loved one. Even she believes she's the true monster of the story.
There were some moments where I was confused as to what was going on in the story. I wanted more about the revolution and even about the scientists. But that was due to me thinking this was a standalone.
Ultimately this book should be geared towards older teens and placed in New Adult. It covers heavier topics in its pages than most expect from YA.