Monday, December 5, 2022

#Review - The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy 

One choice could change everything.

Leelo has spent her whole life on Endla, coexisting with the bloodthirsty forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. But as much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles with the knowledge that her brother will be exiled and forced to live with the outsiders unless he gains enchantment powers before his next birthday.

Then comes the day that Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake. She knows she is supposed to leave him to his fate, but, instead, she betrays her family, her best friend, and her whole community by helping nurse the young man, Jaren, back to health, understanding that discovery could lead to unthinkable consequences for both of them.

As they grow closer, Leelo and Jaren discover that not all danger comes from beyond the lake—and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself. 

The Grace Year meets The Devouring Gray in Mara Rutherford’s atmospheric new fantasy The Poison Season, which follows a girl named Leelo Hart who unintentionally draws a stranger to her island with her magic, leaving her with a choice—rescue him from the lake, or risk betraying her insulated community’s safety and customs. Is everything the elders taught her of outsiders true, or is there something more sinister surrounding their island than its poisonous waters?
 
The story actually revolves around two characters: Leelo Hart, and Jaren, a boy who lives on the other side of the poisoned lake that seems to be immune to the singing coming from Endla. Leelo has spent her whole life on Endla, isolated from outsiders and protected by the poisonous lake and magical forest that surrounds it, with her mother Fiona, her aunt Ketty, and her cousin Sage, coexisting with the bloodthirsty forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. As a Watcher in training, she must spend one year protecting her home from outsiders.
 
The Endlans are an isolated people who are cared for by the forest and care for it in turn - offering it blood sacrifices by singing magical songs that lure animals to them. In this world, nothing happens until it does. Outsiders caught on Endla are given the choice of the Forest or the Lake. Neither choice is a good one. As much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles with the knowledge that her brother Tate, who has no magic of his own, will be exiled and forced to live with the outsiders unless he gains enchantment powers before his birthday.  
 
Most people on the island have the gift of enchanted singing, but those who don’t gain this gift by their twelfth birthday are exiled from the island. Then comes the day that Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake after being chased there by a rather large wolf. She knows she is supposed to leave him to his fate, but, instead, she betrays her family, her best friend, and her whole community by helping nurse Jaren back to health, understanding that discovery could lead to unthinkable consequences for both of them. 
 
As they grow closer, Leelo and Jaren discover that not all danger comes from beyond the lake—and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself. This accessible fantasy world is filled with magic, evil forests, and haunting revelations. It will perfectly satisfy your spooky cottage-core dreams. This story is a standalone. The story wraps up nicely so that a sequel should not be necessary. 





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