Legendborn: A Legendary Read
Photo by Sarah Gerovac
“A Novel Idea,” Hamilton’s book club, just finished another monthly read. At our most recent meeting, we discussed the novel Legendborn, an enchanting and descriptive fantasy involving the secret magical world that the main character, Bree, soon finds herself involved in. This tale intertwines legends and lore from the time of King Arthur with another mysterious force inspired by African American culture and folktales. The tale follows Bree, a witty, intelligent high school student accepted into an academic program at UNC-Chapel Hill after her mother’s recent death in a car crash.
After she discovers that there is more going on at the university than meets the eye and witnesses one too many demon fights, she begins to recognize her own magical abilities, befriends and begins a romantic relationship with the ‘heir’ of King Arthur, and joins a secretive magic society to increase her knowledge. Her inclination that her mother’s death could have been a result of something darker than a simple accident and her run-ins with other African American women who teach her about the nature of their own magic and horrors that they experienced in past centuries of racism allow the novel to be not only a fantastical work of fiction, but also a tasteful social commentary with racial themes and interpretations.
At our latest meeting, we discussed many aspects of our novel. In reference to the plot and characterization, Maya Bell, ‘22, said, “I think the magic system was interesting… I liked the three main characters,” and “I think the story was engaging… well paced… some of the side characters could have gotten more development… most characters had enough development where they were still interesting.” Regarding use of multiple cultures and histories, she also noted, “I like how they handled the King Arthur story… more realistic to what would have actually happened.” The storyline was certainly intriguing, and the tale’s commentary on history and multiple cultures provided a meaningful delve into such heavier topics.
In addition to the novel’s construction, the plot moved relatively slowly at the beginning and took quite a bit of laying out to develop, but eventually the pacing evened out so that there was plenty of action before the end of the book. Ms. Gorski, our club advisor, stated, “I thought the first half was a little harder to get through and the second half it got going and you couldn’t finish fast enough.”
Besides the novel’s lean on important heavier topics like racial commentary, it also addressed issues like trauma and grief in a realistic fashion after Bree lost her mother. The author’s focus on this aspect was likely fueled by the fact that her own family had experienced generations of the losses of young mothers, and one of our book club members commented, “I liked the reality aspect.” Additionally, Ms. Gorski noted, “I thought the author did a really nice job of bringing in a heavy topic like that… of loss.”
This novel certainly dealt with many heavy themes in addition to its ultimate fixation on entertainment value as a fantasy novel. The magical world, laws, and system that were set up in the book lend themselves to a sequel that will bring furthered detail, information, and room for discussion. The magic took many forms, and in many cases, Bree exhibited unique powers and strengths as a result of her own culture and family line that were never held by the ‘Legendborn,’ the descendants of King Arthur and his followers. One book club member talked about Bree’s power by stating, “It kind of seemed like a mix between how the Legendborn used it and how her ancestors used it… they [her ancestors] took it from themselves instead of the air.”
Ultimately, this novel was a truly entertaining tale full of twists and turns, history, romance, social commentary, and fantasy, and it left the readers wanting more (luckily the author is in the process of writing a sequel). The story was an instant New York Times bestseller that rightfully earned its title, and the book club certainly recommends it to any readers looking for an intriguing, exciting fantasy.
4/5 Stars: Highly Recommend
