The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
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Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover ©2017--
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Macmillan
Annotation: This short-story collection by best-selling author Bardugo presents tales of betrayal, revenge, sacrifice, and love, inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore.
 
Reviews: 5
Catalog Number: #149470
Format: Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan
Copyright Date: 2017
Edition Date: 2017 Release Date: 09/26/17
Illustrator: Kipin, Sara,
Pages: 242 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 1-250-12252-X Perma-Bound: 0-605-99381-5
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-1-250-12252-0 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-99381-5
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2017937768
Dimensions: 23 cm.
Subject Heading:
Magic. Fiction.
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Starred Review With this lushly designed and wonderfully rendered offering, Bardugo (Six of Crows, 2015) returns to her Grishaverse with a collection of six stories. In an ending note, Bardugo mentions that her intention was to craft stories her characters might have heard as children, and indeed, no knowledge of her previous works is necessary for enjoying this. The stories are framed as coming from four of her Grishaverse nations ree from Ravka and one each from Kerch, Fjerda, and Novyi Zem d flavors and morals change from culture to fictional culture. At their heart, these are tales built from the eeriest elements of fairy tales we know. Though readers may recognize certain components girl with a wolfskin cape, a house that smells like gingerbread, a mermaid with a silver voice e stories here are entirely, luminously new. Bardugo doesn't twist familiar tales so much as rip them open, and the magic of the collection is enhanced by Kipin's otherworldly artwork: borders that grow ominously longer and more detailed with each page, and culminate in a final double-page spread for each story. Bardugo may be best known for her exemplary world building, but here more than anything, it is her language, lovely and unsettling, that is on display, as well as the accompanying characters who, like the stories themselves, are never what they seem. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Bardugo's already got two acclaimed, best-selling Grishaverse series under her belt, and this release in the same world isn't likely to slow the momentum.

Kirkus Reviews

Six reimagined fairy tales set in the Grishaverse. Bardugo returns to the setting of Shadow and Bone (2012) with both original tales and familiar ones retold. Three are set in the Russia-like Ravka, including "The Witch of Duva." This "Hansel and Gretel" variant plays on stereotypes about villainy held by protagonist Nadya. (It also replaces candy with mouthwatering meals: "crispy roast goose," "butter-soaked blini," "black bread spread with soft cheese," "hot tea laced with sugar," "sweet rolls with prune jam.") From the island nation of Kerch, there's "The Soldier Prince," a retelling of The Nutcracker that raises questions about the selfhood of magical creatures. The Fjerdan "When Water Sang Fire" provides a villain origin story for "The Little Mermaid" that owes far more to Disney than to Hans Christian Andersen; it's nevertheless gorgeously otherworldly. Only the Ravkan stories offer substantial local flavor, though Zemeni Ayama is brown-skinned while the Fjerdan mermaids are fair. Kipin's two-color illustrated borders build cumulatively and fascinatingly, culminating in a double-page spread for each story. The more stylized illustrations, such as the thorns and labyrinth building slowly around the "Beauty and the Beast" variant "Ayama and the Thorn Wood," are the most successful; depictions of people are a little cutesy for the eerie prose. Any lover of retellings or original fairy tales will enjoy these offerings, whether they're new to Bardugo's worlds or are established fans. (Fantasy. 12-16)

Word Count: 57,991
Reading Level: 6.3
Interest Level: 7-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 6.3 / points: 9.0 / quiz: 193878 / grade: Upper Grades
Lexile: 970L

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Trace the roots of Grisha power and discover this deliciously atmospheric, fully-illustrated collection of Grishaverse fairy tales filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love. Enter the Grishaverse... Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns. Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price. Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, the tales in The Language of Thorns will transport you to lands both familiar and strange--to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse. This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, each of them lavishly illustrated and culminating in stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves. A New York Times Bestseller This title has Common Core connections. "Lushly designed and wonderfully rendered...Bardugo doesn't twist familiar tales so much as rip them open." -- Booklist , starred review "Strong writing, compelling stories, and gorgeous illustrations make this collection a must-have." -- School Library Journal , starred review "Beautiful imagery conceived from precise, beautiful prose; beautiful cover image and interior illustrations that creep across each page toward a beautiful consummation; beautiful lands inhabited by beautiful hearts." -- VOYA , starred review "Elegantly crafted...stylishly intricate illustrations...all fans of the darker side of folktales and folktale-like stories will find the stories satisfyingly full of pain, danger, and vengeance." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books , starred review "Gorgeously otherworldly...Any lover of retellings or original fairy tales will enjoy." -- Kirkus Reviews "Gorgeous, cruel and almost wistful windows onto the dreamscapes and hard lessons of [Bardugo's] alternate universe...fairy tales with all the darkness intact." -- NPR Book Review "Those who seem innocent are shown to be guilty, one-dimensional characters become more complicated, and mothers who once were absent are given presence and power." -- Mashable "This new collection will intrigue, awe, frighten, and inspire both stalwart fans and new readers looking for a heady spoonful of fantasy." --Hypable "This nightmare-inducing collection is short but powerful, each tale as brilliant and absorbing as the one before... brilliant storytelling." -- Romantic Times "Marvelous tales, as full of twists and delights and strangeness as anything found in the Grimm Brothers. Leigh Bardugo is a master." --Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble Read all the books in the Grishaverse! The Shadow and Bone Trilogy (previously published as The Grisha Trilogy) Shadow and Bone Siege and Storm Ruin and Rising The Six of Crows Duology Six of Crows Crooked Kingdom The King of Scars Duology King of Scars Rule of Wolves The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic The Lives of Saints Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel Praise for the Grishaverse "A master of fantasy." -- The Huffington Post "Utterly, extremely bewitching." -- The Guardian "This is what fantasy is for." -- The New York Times Book Review "A world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp." --NPR "The darker it gets for the good guys, the better." -- Entertainment Weekly "Sultry, sweeping and picturesque. . . . Impossible to put down." -- USA Today "There's a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo's original epic fantasy that sets it apart." -- Vanity Fair "Unlike anything I've ever read." --Veronica Roth, bestselling author of Divergent "Bardugo crafts a first-rate adventure, a poignant romance, and an intriguing mystery!" --Rick Riordan, bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series


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