TBF blogger, Katie reviewed Sarah Rees Brennan's latest novel, TELL THE WIND AND FIRE. Take a look:
“In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets.
Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised.
Lucie alone knows of the deadly connection the young men share, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.
Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?
Celebrated author Sarah Rees Brennan tells a magical tale of romance and revolution, love and loss.”
If you’ve read A Tale of Two Cities, the name Lucie Manette may seem very similar to you. And it certainly should, since Tell the Wind and Fire is actually a retelling of Dickens’ classic tale, replacing the two cities in the title, Paris and London, with two sides of New York City- Light and Dark.
In this reimagined modern-day society, humanity has discovered two types of magic and while Light Magicians who derive their power from the sun and moon receive a place at the top of society where they are ruled by the ruthless Mark Stryker, Dark Magicians, taking magic from blood, are confined to the slums where unrest is always brewing.
Caught between these two worlds is Lucie Manette, a.k.a. the Golden Thread through the Dark who became a city-wide celebrity after trying to save her father from the Cages, a cruel Light punishment. Having moved from her previous home with her aunt in the Dark side of the city, she now has a better life ahead of her, along with a happy relationship with Ethan, Mark Stryker’s nephew- but only as long as she can keep her image clear and her past out of the spotlight.
However this all begins to change when she finds out, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, that Ethan has a doppelganger created by Dark magic, the roguish Carwyn. And to make matters worse, the Dark side of the city is starting a revolution, using her name as their rallying cry.
With magic, and evil shadow twins, this book is a good read if you don’t enjoy the long-windedness and historical setting of classics. I also found the main character, Lucie Manette, to be quite more in control of her own destiny than the original which is great if you’re like me and enjoy reading about strong female leads.
But when it comes to my favorite character in the novel, it would have to be Carwyn. Funny and wildly sarcastic, he was a wonderful doppelganger not just for Ethan but for his counterpart in A Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton. Here are some of his best lines:
“‘Well, said Carwyn, ‘I’m a growing avatar of darkness and I’ve been waiting for room service a suspiciously long time. Like two hours. I’m wondering what to do about it.’”
“‘I know,’ said Carwyn [pretending to be Ethan]. ‘I am just not very bright. Well, you’ve seen the kind of clothes I choose to wear, with the entirety of New York’s men’s fashions at my disposal, right?’”
“‘I said I wasn’t a criminal mastermind whose devious plans topple cities,’ Carwyn told me. ‘I never said I was nice.’"
So all in all, make sure to pick up Tell the Wind and Fire before May 14th and check out Sarah Rees Brennan at Teen Book Fest! You certainly won’t regret it!
“In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own—one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised.
Lucie alone knows of the deadly connection the young men share, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.
Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy—or herself?
Celebrated author Sarah Rees Brennan tells a magical tale of romance and revolution, love and loss.”
If you’ve read A Tale of Two Cities, the name Lucie Manette may seem very similar to you. And it certainly should, since Tell the Wind and Fire is actually a retelling of Dickens’ classic tale, replacing the two cities in the title, Paris and London, with two sides of New York City- Light and Dark.
In this reimagined modern-day society, humanity has discovered two types of magic and while Light Magicians who derive their power from the sun and moon receive a place at the top of society where they are ruled by the ruthless Mark Stryker, Dark Magicians, taking magic from blood, are confined to the slums where unrest is always brewing.
Caught between these two worlds is Lucie Manette, a.k.a. the Golden Thread through the Dark who became a city-wide celebrity after trying to save her father from the Cages, a cruel Light punishment. Having moved from her previous home with her aunt in the Dark side of the city, she now has a better life ahead of her, along with a happy relationship with Ethan, Mark Stryker’s nephew- but only as long as she can keep her image clear and her past out of the spotlight.
However this all begins to change when she finds out, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, that Ethan has a doppelganger created by Dark magic, the roguish Carwyn. And to make matters worse, the Dark side of the city is starting a revolution, using her name as their rallying cry.
With magic, and evil shadow twins, this book is a good read if you don’t enjoy the long-windedness and historical setting of classics. I also found the main character, Lucie Manette, to be quite more in control of her own destiny than the original which is great if you’re like me and enjoy reading about strong female leads.
But when it comes to my favorite character in the novel, it would have to be Carwyn. Funny and wildly sarcastic, he was a wonderful doppelganger not just for Ethan but for his counterpart in A Tale of Two Cities Sydney Carton. Here are some of his best lines:
“‘Well, said Carwyn, ‘I’m a growing avatar of darkness and I’ve been waiting for room service a suspiciously long time. Like two hours. I’m wondering what to do about it.’”
“‘I know,’ said Carwyn [pretending to be Ethan]. ‘I am just not very bright. Well, you’ve seen the kind of clothes I choose to wear, with the entirety of New York’s men’s fashions at my disposal, right?’”
“‘I said I wasn’t a criminal mastermind whose devious plans topple cities,’ Carwyn told me. ‘I never said I was nice.’"
So all in all, make sure to pick up Tell the Wind and Fire before May 14th and check out Sarah Rees Brennan at Teen Book Fest! You certainly won’t regret it!
Thank you so much, Katie!
That's it for today! Talk to you guys soon!
Miranda
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