Jena Groshek

by Jena Groshek

Erin A. Craig, bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows, takes readers on a journey through self-discovery and moral conflict in The Thirteenth Child. Hazel Trépas, the unwanted thirteenth child of a “foolish huntsman” and his “very pretty wife,” was promised to the Dreaded End—the god of Death—before she was even born. Years later, when Death comes to call on his beloved goddaughter, Hazel’s livelihood and aspirations change in a matter of hours. She is told she will become such a renowned healer that even kings will ask for her by name. Along with this new destiny comes a gift: the ability to foresee the cure to a patient’s ailment through simply cupping their cheek.

Armed with this extraordinary power, Hazel begins healing the sick and wounded of her town, feeling a glorious new sense of purpose that she hadn’t been able to find in the shadow of her toxic family. However, she learns that this gift comes at times with a ghastly cost: When a patient cannot be cured, a deathshead in the shape of a grinning skull appears, signifying that they have been claimed by Death. With no other option, she must end their suffering for good.

This poses an impossible dilemma for Hazel. When the deathshead appears, how will she balance her moral duty to heal with the will of her powerful, uncompromising godfather? Haunted by the lives she’s taken, Hazel reaches the hardest decision she has yet to face in her time as a healer when the deathshead appears over none other than the king himself. Does she follow the command of her godfather to avoid his wrath? But if she kills the king, won’t the resulting political turmoil lead to far more death? No matter what she decides, Hazel will never be the same again after this choice

The Thirteenth Child encapsulates the reader in their own moral dissection of right and wrong, leading them to ponder whether the betterment of one may also lead to the betterment of others in this scenario.Craig is a master at developing her characters, giving them real-world obstacles to work through while adding a hint of magic to keep readers on their toes. The Thirteenth Child makes it difficult to predict where Hazel’s conflicting senses of responsibility and duty will lead her, and readers are sure to be drawn into their own internal debate about the incomprehensible burden of this gift that seems so beautiful on the surface.

Erin A. Craig is a master at developing her characters, giving them real-world obstacles to work through while adding a hint of magic to keep readers on their toes.

Children's & YA, YA, YA Fiction

Children's & YA YA Fiction YA

Our Beautiful Darkness

Review by Jena Groshek

by Jena Groshek

In award-winning author Ondjaki’s Our Beautiful Darkness, a boy and a girl spend a night together during a power outage in Luanda, Angola, at the height of the Angolan Civil War, which immediately followed Angola’s independence from Portugal in 1975.

With the sting of chaos all around these two unnamed protagonists, and the lingering uncertainty that not only comes with war, but also with physical darkness, they find themselves delving into an existential exploration of the heart, as well as an unspoken buildup of affection and yearning. Should the boy lean in for a kiss? Their hands are touching—is that a sign?

In this young adult graphic novel, translated from the original Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann, all of this takes place while the two characters contemplate the possibility of the impossible—such as sending wishes to the stars that wars would cease to exist, children would no longer be taken by them and there could be a rainbow bridge that brings home people who have died in the war.

Antonio Jorge Gonçalves’ illustrations pair perfectly with the blackout setting, in that each spread leaves something to be questioned and interpreted, just as the two characters do through dialogue. While the boy and girl discuss their pain and the cruelty of war, they rejoice in the little things the darkness has brought them: closeness, silence, time with nothing else to do and a determination to make this night together as beautiful as possible. With such a stunning representation of not only pain and conflict, but also the joy that is still able to make its way through, Our Beautiful Darkness is sure to leave readers considering, appreciating and reflecting on the world around them.

With such a stunning representation of not only pain and conflict, but also the joy that is still able to make its way through, Our Beautiful Darkness is sure to leave readers considering, appreciating and reflecting on the world around them.