ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Hardinge, Frances

Unraveller

432 pp. | Abrams/Amulet | January, 2023 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5098-3697-0 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-64700-562-7 $15.54
(2) YA In a magical land where anger grows like an egg inside certain people until it bursts into a destructive curse, quick-tempered Kellen has a special talent: through persistent sleuthing and his own lively intuition, he can "unravel" the anger and undo the curse. Nettle, who was a heron before Kellen unraveled her stepmother's curse and restored her humanity, is Kellen's opposite, reserved to a fault and inclined to think twice before acting. The teens are bailed out of jail by dangerous-seeming marsh horseman Gall, which sets off a cascade of adventures. Gall's employer wants them to investigate the Red Hospital where cursers are held captive; when they find that one of the cursers has been replaced by an innocent person, it's off to the spirit-infested Wilds to follow one clue after another. As revelation builds upon revelation, Kellen and Nettle are drawn in both by their own curiosity and by what appears to be a conspiracy: someone is gathering cursers and turning their spite against political targets, and Gall's shadowy employer seems to be in their crosshairs. Hardinge (A Skinful of Shadows, rev. 1/18; Deeplight, rev. 3/20) creates a top-notch fantasy with a fresh setting populated by original monsters (Bookbearers, Gladelords, Dancing Stars) and the feel of old folktales. But it's Kellen's wild charisma and Nettle's extreme interiority that will beguile readers, even as the tale's air of mystery continuously deepens.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?