I admit that I couldn’t stop reading this somewhat snarky and completely non-conformist (for the fictional time) rewrite of The Sword in the Stone. Emry Merlin is the female half of Merlin the Wizard’s twin offspring. Far more gifted than her lazy, womanizing brother, Merlin the elder only begrudgingly trained her in the magical arts. Years later, brother Emmet is called to be Court Wizard for a bookish Crown Prince (Arthur). Emry must take his place (disguised as her twin) as Emmet is indisposed, having tried a difficult spell which backfired spectacularly.
It’s a YA book in that all the characters — Emry, Arthur, Lancelot, Gawain, Guinevere — are in their teens. Fun writing, great backstories, and a plot that manages to stick to all the classic events but with completely different (and sensible) explanations. A very clever combination of modern sensibilities and ethics with classic environments and plots. I’m not a big fan of rewrites but I had a great deal of fun with this one — probably because no character was harmed in the writing (meaning that no character was suddenly a bad guy if they weren’t before) and there were no (IMHO) stupid plot points required to make it work. In keeping with the modern sensibilities, some fun romance and matter-of-fact variable sexual preferences that were not treated as any big deal. FYI this is book one! No cliff hanger but there is a lot of the King Arthur tale left …
Perfect for my recently returned from beach vacation.
Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on February 21st, 202
Books to look forward to ... 