Author: Alysa WIshingrad
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray
The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Monsters are still lurking on Barrow’s Bay.
Dare Coates is sure of it. No drifter or ruffian could have killed her father, the Captain of the Guard, while he was on patrol. But everyone insists that monsters have been gone for years now. Dare’s mother. Her classmates. Even the governor, who swiftly marries her mother just months after her father’s death.
Dare’s suspicions grow even stronger when the governor suddenly ships her off to the mainland, away from any hope of uncovering the truth about her father’s death.
Or so she thinks. Soon Dare finds solid proof that monsters still exist and she starts to question everything she’s always known. Was her father who she thought he was? Who can she trust? Where is the line between good and evil?
The truth hides behind danger and deception. But with the help of an unlikely crew of cohorts and a stray beastie, nothing can stop Dare from finding out what happened to her father and exposing who the real monsters are.
My opinion: It's certainly not unheard of to have a middle grade story where characters discover that the world is not what they have been lead to believe. And when we're talking about monsters, we won't be surprised to find an exploration of the idea of "monster". Is a wild beast monstrous because it attacks? Who defines monster instead of just creature? And why would someone be covering up the existence of monsters? These are the questions that Dare finds herself picking apart and bringing the reader along with her. The messaging is a bit heavy handed but the exploration of morals is thorough and complex enough to make it worth a read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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