by April Genevieve Tucholke
♦publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
♦release date: October 2nd, 2018•
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone, retelling
♦source: from publisher for review consideration
A dark standalone YA fantasy about a band of mercenary girls in search of female glory.
Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.
When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.
Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.
When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.
{Review}
I've long been a fan of April Tucholke's signature bizarre and stylistic storytelling, and when I heard she would be putting it to a high fantasy tale, I couldn't have been more excited. Her gorgeous writing has always given such a fantastical and eerie feel to contemporary stories, I could only imagine how unique her take on the mythical tale legend of Beowolf would be. I admit, I wasn't that familiar with the source material but it didn't stop me from diving headlong into this retelling.
The Boneless Mercies themselves...wow. What a dynamic group of women. Frey, Juniper, Ovie, and Runa--a sisterhood in the best sense of the word. Each had their own strengths and complicated weaknesses. Each had their own reasons for being in the life they led...and for maybe wanting out. I love how closely they worked together, how they knew each other so deeply and bolstered each other up. I love that it was a gender-bent, feminist take on this legend without making all men villainous and hateful. There was even Trigve, a man who traveled with them and fought by their side---his backstory and his unconventional relationship with Frey added so much to the story. For each of the characters in turn, there were moments of anger and passion and quiet inner searching as they journeyed to try their hand at defeating a legendary beast. This story was hideously bloody at times, heartbreaking at many times, and thoughtful and completely unputdownable(*) though the entire thing. April Tucholke does it again.
(*On a side and very personal note, I say unputdownable, even though I did at one point, actually put it aside. In the beginning, it takes the time to really show what the Boneless Mercies do--they are, quite literally, human reapers. They are paid by the sick or suffering or their family to take someone's life as a mercy killing and it shows them doing this for people of all ages. Because of things going on in my life, this was too painful and too emotional of an idea for me and I had to set it aside. Still, a while later, I was called back to this book, a journey and battle that I knew April would make into a beautiful story, so I picked it up again. It lured me in and, yes, after that it was unputdownable!)
{ABOUT THE AUTHOR}
April Genevieve Tucholke is the author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Between the Spark and the Burn, and Wink Poppy Midnight. She also curated the horror anthology Slasher Girls & Monster Boys. She has received five starred reviews and her novels have been chosen for the Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next picks, and YALSA Teens Top Ten. When she's not writing, April likes walking in the woods with her two cheerful dogs, exploring abandoned houses, and drinking expensive coffee. She has lived in many places around the world, and currently resides in Oregon with her husband.
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