The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

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  • **2010 Debut Author Challenge List**
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (February 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she finally discovers why. For when her half-brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she had never imagined--the world of Faery. 

MY REVIEW: When I first read the blurb I thought, "Oh no, another story about the fae." After finishing EYES LIKE STARS, LAMENT, FAIRY TALE, and halfway through DARKLIGHT, I picked up the book after I received it and turned to the first chapter.  As a writer I am always interested in how authors begin their stories. Kurawa started with this intriguing line: "Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday my father disappeared." By the time I looked up I had already finished the first chapter.

Needless to say, I enjoyed THE IRON KING for two reasons: the main character's voice and the darkness of the story. I haven't been a huge fairy fan, but I've read some really good stories about these creatures over the last year and I now find them intriguing.  I also have to acknowledge the crop of talented YA authors who have interpreted the lore and created entertaining books from it. Kurawa has added redcaps, goblins, knights, gremlins and very evil fairies to her tale about a teen girl who doesn't fit in. Little does she know a new world awaits her visit and the adventures she'll undertake once there. Her best friend turns out to be a lot more than that, and the monsters we tell our children don't live in the closet, in the Chase house they do. One such monster steals her four-year-old brother, leaving a horrible changeling in his place, and Meghan is off to the fairie dimension to bring him back. Her trip is filled with violence, creatures who look upon her with disdain and hiss "half-breed" at her, a father who is a King of Summer, and the gorgeous ice prince, Ash, whose heart isn't as chilly as he pretends it to be. I enjoyed the author's nod at how technology can create problems for those who use it in place of everything, while forgetting about the natural beauty of the real world around them.

My birthday is in August and I already know I'll be asking for the second book, THE IRON DAUGHTER (and a bunch of other new releases) as some of my presents.

RATING: ++++

FOR FANS OF: Contemporary fantasy; fae tales; romance and adventure.

SERIES: Yes. THE IRON DAUGHTER, August, 2010 and THE IRON QUEEN, tba.

REVIWED BY: Laurie

BOOK SOURCE: Purchased.

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