Daughter of the Bone Forest

November 13, 2023
Seventeen-year-old Rosy Holt, who has the rare ability to shift into a powerful bone wolf, wants nothing to do with the Cursed Kingdom and its prophesied war, preferring a simple life at the family horse ranch. When she saves the life of Princess Shaw Colchuck, however, Rosy is offered a spot at the prestigious Witch Hall, where the brightest witches and familiars of the Cursed Kingdom master their magic. She reluctantly accepts, hoping to make the connections required to bring her exiled grandmother home. But Rosy struggles adapting to the unfamiliar rules of noble society and hides her power as a bone familiar to avoid being drafted. Her plans are thrown into chaos when Shaw, the sole heir to the throne, chooses to court Rosy to further her own mysterious goals. As war looms, the two must learn to trust each other with their closest secrets to unlock their magic’s true potential. Richly rendered characters, an inventive magic system, and Rosy and Shaw’s sweetly budding and emotionally fraught relationship add verve to this queernormative fantasy adventure, in which debut author Skye perfunctorily explores themes of class discrimination and military indoctrination. Rosy cues as white; Shaw is described as having sepia skin and brown hair. Ages 13–up. Agent: Mary C. Moore, Aevitas Creative Management.

December 15, 2023
In the Cursed Kingdom, witches and familiars--humans who can shapeshift into animals--create powerful bonds through elaborate courtship rituals that give them power--and perhaps even bring them love. A chance encounter with Princess Shaw, a powerful witch known as Death's Heir for her prophesied leadership in an imminent war, sends Rosamund Holt to the prestigious and elitist school Witch Hall. Rosamund doesn't want to leave her Gran, who was exiled after she went feral during a wolf shift. She's also afraid that her robust shifting abilities will mean being drafted by a kingdom she has no interest in going to war for, given how it's treated her family. Once entrenched in the magical school, Rosamund realizes she's a powerful familiar and enjoys her studies. She balks when Shaw chooses to court her, however. Rosamund tries to deny her connection with Shaw, and she can't help wondering what the princess really wants from her. Peopled with queer characters representing the breadth of the gender spectrum, this epic hero's journey is at turns touchingly romantic and graphically violent. The action unfolds in a vivid and original world that leaves readers with a cliffhanger ending that promises more adventures with the compelling protagonists. Rosamund is light-skinned with "hay-colored hair"; Shaw has "pale sepia skin," and there's racial diversity in the supporting cast. A robustly imagined, intrinsically queer, and romantic high-fantasy epic. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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January 1, 2024

Gr 8 Up-Everyone knows war threatens the Cursed Kingdom, refuge of witches and animal-shape-shifting familiars. Seventeen-year-old familiar Rosy knows, but she wants none of it. Seeing how cruelly the military exploited then discarded her shapeshifter grandparents, she hides her own multiple shifts-especially her wolf. Unfortunately, saving Princess Shaw's life in the Bone Forest reveals some of Rosy's animals and lands her at Witch Hall, a witch and familiar boarding school. Though Rosy tries to evade notice, heir-to-the-throne Shaw officially courts her. Shaw hopes for a romantic witch-familiar bond to strengthen them for the coming conflict, but Rosy, despite feeling their connection, refuses to commit herself. War won't wait, though, and choices must be made. A cliff-hanger ending promises a sequel. Rosy is cued white. Shaw has "dark brown" hair and "pale sepia" skin. The queer-normative world features a racially and ethnically diverse cast. Skye's intriguing magical school inhabits a sometimes confusing but nonetheless compelling dark fantasy setting, featuring multiple types of witches and their corresponding familiars. Keeping track of the extensive cast may challenge readers, but the main characters are as compelling as their complex world. The unpredictable and rocky association between brash, uncompromising Rosy and necessarily more subtle Shaw will appeal to readers who appreciate complication and nuance in relationships. VERDICT This magical school dark fantasy set in a diverse and queer-normative world will leave readers eager for the next installment.-Rebecca Moore

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Starred review from February 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Rosamund Holt is a bone familiar who can shift into a wolf, and she has two goals in life: to heal her grandmother, also a bone familiar, from her grief-induced rage, and to keep her own abilities a secret from everyone, especially the army. All her life, she's heard about the inevitable upcoming war that Princess Shaw Colchuk is destined to fight. When Rosy saves Shaw's life in the Bone Forest, though, she's whisked off to a magical boarding school, full of intrigue, politics, military training disguised as survival skills, and, most confusingly, the etiquette and courtship rituals that go along with Princess Shaw declaring her intention to bond with Rosy. But a bond like that means Rosy has to fight in the war--she'd be helping to lead the troops, and Rosy's not the only one keeping secrets that could change the path of the entire country. This is a rich, queernormative fantasy, and while Rosy is described as white, other characters are of varying ethnicities and intersectional backgrounds. This is Skye's debut, the first of a planned duology, and it ends on a cliff-hanger. Give it to teens who love high fantasy and get incredibly invested in series books. It's not to be missed.

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