Jude Duarte was seven when a man broke into her house and murdered her parents. He, identifying himself as someone named Madoc, takes Jude and her two sisters to a realm known as the High Court of Faerie. There, they are raised in aristocracy, albeit discriminated against for being human. Years pass but all Jude wants is to be accepted there. Fae hate humans, so when she is forced to attend school there, all of her fellow classmates harass her. The worst of all of them is the King's youngest son, Cardan Greenbriar. He and his vigilantes try to drown her, beat her up, and humiliate her. Cardan’s older sibling Dain presents Jude with the opportunity to be his spy in exchange for protection. As Jude fights her way through the world of Fae, she unveils a sinister plot that could end in utter chaos.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black. A strong and empowering female protagonist is always appreciated, plus throughout the book, she felt relatable without playing on stereotypes. This book was very unpredictable, holding your attention all the way to the end. Trigger warnings include body-shaming, slut-shaming, slavery, physical & psychological child abuse, cheating, disownment, suicide and coerced self-harm, alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse, drug use and non-consensual drugging, mithridatism, pregnancy, attempted abortion via poison, blood and gore depiction, dead bodies, graphic physical injuries, decapitation, dismemberment, emesis, death of parents, death of friends, death of siblings, death by falling, drowning, murder and attempted murder, knife violence, stabbing, strangulation, torture, kidnapping, war, and bullying.
Reviewed by Anon, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
1 comment:
Jude lives in the High Court of Faerie with her two sisters since she was seven years old after being stolen. Jude and her twin sister are both humans, except for her older sister Vivienne. Ten years later, Jude is treated differently and bullied by the Fay for being human. Prince Cardan is the youngest son of the High King who despises humans and especially Jude. After a shocking circumstance, Prince Cardan becomes the new king and in order for Jude to be able to stay in the High Court, she has to win her way into a place in the Court by Cardan's side. This leads to Jude doing things that go against Cardan and defy him.
I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to young readers who want to start reading fantasy books. This is a great fantasy book to read that will not confuse readers too much like other fantasy books that have complex worlds. This is a good book for young adults, however, it could be quite boring at times for older readers like myself. When I read it for the first time, I really loved it, but after having read more books that interest me, I would not reread this book. This was an underwhelming book and I did not like that there was so little almost to none romance in it. I enjoy books that are mainly romance genres so this book was not on my top list of favorite books.
Reviewed by PM, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
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