Unraveller by Frances Hardinge

Krysta

January 31

Information

Goodreads: Unraveller
Series: None
Age Category: Young Adult
Source: Library
Published: 2022

Summary

In Raddith, those filled with hate have the ability to curse their enemies. Only Kellen can unravel a curse once it has been cast. But now he seems to have been cursed himself, and he will need the help of his friend Nettle to lift it before he unravels everything around him.

Review

Frances Hardinge is the master of wildly inventive worlds and Unraveller, once again, invites readers onto an unforgettable journey. In Raddith, the Little Brothers grant people the ability to curse their enemies. This means that one's husband or daughter could disappear overnight, perhaps transformed into an animal or even an inanimate object. Finding them could be next to impossible. And changing them back? Only one person has that power. Enter Kellen and Nettle, two protagonists who are far from perfect, but whose journey will open up questions about what it means to forgive, to heal, and to move on.

Part of Hardinge's charm is that her protagonist so often are not typical heroes. Far from being noble or brave or charming, often they are, instead, moody, bitter, and irascible. Yet, Hardinge's stories suggest, they, too, are worthy of being a protagonist. They, too, have stories that deserve to be told. In a world where most of us, upon honest self-reflection, will admit that we are not likely hero material, either, this feels very reassuring. So it is that the quick-tempered Kellen, so eager to move on after unravelling a curse, without care for what happens next to the victim and his friend, the once-cursed Nettle, struggling not to be upset about the whole being-turned-into-a-bird thing, capture our hearts, in spite of--or perhaps because of--their flaws.

And they move through a wildly wonderful world, one where magic seeps into the every day and both beauty and danger exist around every corner. Hardinge never seems to repeat a world, or a magic system, always coming up with yet another original and immersive story. And the magic fits the world. This one, where curses can come true, feels dark and tenuous--just like the possibility of being cursed from afar, perhaps from someone you did not even know hated you.

Fans of Hardinge will need no encouragement to pick this one up. But any reader who loves YA fantasy and wants something that feels unlike anything else on the market will want to try Unraveller, as well.