This Savage Song - V.E. Schwab
Do you enjoy openly sobbing over fictional characters at 2am
while your concerned husband stares in helpless confusion? Then I have an
author for you. V.E. Schwab a/k/a Victoria Schwab in her younger-targeted works
is the hidden gem of the YA world., though I am pleased to say over the last
few years she’d been growing in popularity throughout the book world. During my
days as a humble bookseller, I could not recommend her enough to customers.
Her dualology, the Monsters of Verity, begins with This
Savage Song. Here’s the opening line;
“The night Kate Harker
decided to burn down the school chapel, she wasn’t angry or drunk. She was
desperate.”
Kate is a character hardened by a hard world. The city of
Verity is plagued by monsters, three species to be exact; Corsai, Malachi and
Sunai. Each species is born from a particular, violent actions: The Corsai from
non-lethal violence, the Malachi from murder and the Sunai from as born from
mass destruction. The book’s second main protagonist is a Sunai, named August. Other
than their difference in species, Kate and August live on opposite sides of a
city divided in half; while August’s adoptive “father” leads the faction
willing to fight the city’s monsters for freedom, Kate’s father is happy enough
selling protection. August and Kate’s paths set them directly on a collision
course with one another.
But don’t worry, this isn’t the latest YA retelling of Romeo
and Juliet you may think it’s going to be. Without giving away too much,
whether they are friends, allies or enemies, August and Kate’s relationship to
one another becomes the driving motivation for each respective character’s
journey. V.E. Schwab’s story allows readers to skip over the doe-eyed “who am
I” arc for her characters. Both Kate and August are amazingly rounded
characters who both start the series knowing exactly who or what they are. These kids are monsters,
and they know it.
-Meg
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