Author: Mary Weber
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 5th, 2019
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Source: ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.
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My Review:
This book was amazing! There was so much about it that was original, and yet so much of it that reminded me of other stories. Some things, like the clothing and also the interactions between the rich and poor, reminded me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason. And then there were parts with the competition that made me think of The Maze Runner. The romance was great, and the science was great, and all of the characters were interesting. So much of this fits into the type of climate of society and the world right now. There was even one scene where Rhen and her cousin Seleni, disguised as boys, hear the other boys discuss them, not knowing they're there since they think they are boys. And that bit reminded me somewhat of a scene in Twilight, from Rose's back story. There was also the one male character that as a reader I was unsure how much to trust them or if they would turn out to be good in the end. So I was surprised by one that turned out to not be good, to have double-crossed everyone, including his own partners in crime. And then the part at the end about they don't want a girl taking a test at the same place as the boys taking the test, because she would distract them? Wow, I totally rolled my eyes along with the girl character in that scene.
A great book, I'll look forward to reading more by this author in the future, or going back to pick up the ones I missed.
About the Author:
I'm also the author of the Storm Siren Trilogy, The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series, and the March 2019 release, To Best the Boys. When not working, I sing 80’s hairband songs to my three muggle children, and ogle my husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. We live in California, which is perfect for stalking aging movie stars while wearing fanny packs and sweatpants.
For those who like to know such things (mainly my mom), Storm Siren was featured in the Scholastic Book Fair and my novels have been endorsed by such nice humans as Marissa Meyer, CJ Redwine, Shannon Messenger, and Jonathan Maberry (in fact, Marissa Meyer and I have a fun interview in the paperback of her book, CRESS). Also, Boba tea and sweatpants are life. {We can chat about life (in sweatpants over tea, obviously) in my Newsletter.
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Giveaway:
- Prize: Win 1 of 2 finished copies of TO BEST THE BOYS by Mary Weber (1 INTERNATIONAL winner and 1 US ONLY winner)
- Start Date: 25th February 2019
- End Date: 11th March 2019
