Book Review: Tithe

Tithe

Author: Holly Black

Publish Date: June 2008

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms — a struggle that could very well mean her death. (From GoodReads)

Everyone I know has already read this book. A friend of mine insists Holly Black is a genius. Truth be told I had intended on reading it early but for lack of time. However, now that it's done, I must concur. Holly Black is a genius.

The book starts in New York City but the main focus of the story is set in New Jersey. it's a nice quiet town, that gives the impression of a close community in areas and a large community overall.

The main character is Kaye who is a very smart girl if a little naive in some circumstances. She enjoys the quieter town in comparison to the big city and enjoys (apparently) frolicking through dangerous trees. I like her spine most of all. She's not one to back down and when she's forced to retreat it's only long enough for her to think of an alternative strategy. She's not a quitter and she's an enjoyable character for her stubbornness.

Her counterpart is Roiben. He is everything good moms warn their daughters not to fall in love with. While not tall, dark and dangerous, the standard is successful changed to something more. Still tall, he's pale. Everything is pale. His hair, his skin, even his eyes are a light smoky grey. His demeanor is disgustingly cold and formal in the beginning but for some reason, it makes him a more loveable character when he finally comes out from behind his walls. The reader gets the undeniable pleasure of watching him loosen up and grow. It makes the heart warm and fuzzy.

The story is fast paced. Each chapter flows into the next easily and smoothly. There are no mysterious gaps or mysterious emersions of huhs or what just happened? Everything leads into the next and everything has significance. If not immediately identified it would be later on. There were no wasted words or pointless descriptions. The characters are very real and their struggles very well portrayed.

I'm very excited to read the next book. It's been a very long time since I've fallen into a story and not wanted to come out. This is very well written and I would recommend it to anyone that has a love of the faery.

My Rating: