Thursday 30 August 2012

Tithe by Holly Black

Book:  Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (The Modern Faerie Tales #1) by Holly Black, 2004 by Margaret K. McElderry Books, 331 pages.

Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book, even though it was not what I was expecting  Black is a great writer who knows how to keep the reader turning the pages. 

I liked the realistic portrayal of the main character, Kaye, her life and how the fantasy played into that.  She is definitely not the middle class girl that we find in many young adult books.  Kaye's reality is much harsher.  In Tithe, this means that there is swearing on nearly every page.  This may be difficult for some readers.

Then there is the dark fantasy and the whole faerie underworld, which was terrific.  Black had this whole world set up so well that it all felt plausible and I would love to read more.

This book will not be for everyone.  There is swearing, drugs, drinking, talk about sex, etc.  However, I also think these are things that teens are thinking about or dealing with and I like how matter of factly the author presents them.  If you are looking for a darker book about faeries in an industrial urban setting, I would recommend this book.

3 comments:

  1. I have read 2/3 of Black's Curse Worker series and I am curious about her earlier works. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

    Sara @ Just Another Story

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  2. i loved white cat . gr8 review

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  3. I've just read White Cat and can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

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