Become Enchanted With; Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale

I mentioned Holly Black in my last post about the Mortal Instruments. You may have heard of her and her children's book series The Spiderwick Chronicles (my little brother is quite fond of them). She is a phenomenal writer and a very fun person. At the book signing I went to in December we ended up chatting for a good ten minutes, I held up the autograph line and was promptly scolded. Anyways, Holly Black also writes teen novels and does some manga. The book I want to take about is Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. The book is about Kaye who is sixteen years old. Kaye is a girl who has grown up in an interesting family. Her mother is a failed rock star and Kaye has spent her most of her life touring New England with her mother who sang in bars with her band. Well one day her mother decides to go back to their old home town, a small "blue collar" town in New Jersey. It is there that Kaye discovers some very interesting things about herself, and a crazy adventure begins. There are faeries involved and we get to discover their world (no they aren't the Tinkerbell kind, they can actually be about 7 feet tall). Kaye meets a very strange faerie knight, Roiben, and saves him. Suddenly Kaye is thrown into an ancient battle between two kingdoms and might be used as a sacrifice for freedom. I really can't say anything more or I will be ruining the story.

The book has won some teen book awards and rightfully so. Black's writing style is gritty and agressive and I love it! I did a book report on this book in grade nine and I remember putting in my report that it wasn't beautiful in a "field full of flowers" way but it was beautiful in a "old abandoned cottage" type of way. Her writing is haunting and melancholic with an ever present sense of humour. Kaye is a very interesting character. She can be funny and is very stubborn. She is a good main character, she isn't very "in your face" about things but she is doesn't let people walk all over her. She has fire. I don't have a problem with any of the other characters. My favourite is Roiben because he has the whole brooding/serious soldier attitude down to a tee. He is also bitter and cynical which I love. The book has very interesting plot twists and there is some fighting, and a bit of mystery. I give it a 5/5. Holly Black is a true poet and she knows how to write a good story. Until next time!

P.S. If you end up liking Tithe read Holly Black's other Modern Faerie Tales; Valiant and Ironside.