5
stars - Incredible YA fantasy stand-alone.
Book
Blurb:
“Every
year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a
mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship
to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to
see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely
their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive
which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s
microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.”
In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.”
Review:
While
‘To Best the Boys’ is set in a fictional fantasy world, it would be entirely
believable as YA historical fiction if not for the touch of magic and
supernatural elements.
Rhen
Tellur and her cousin Seleni are strong, fearless ladies and the best of
friends despite their different upbringings.
Rhen’s mother was outcast from the posh ‘Upper’ lifestyle she was born
into when she married a ‘Lower’ for love.
As such, Rhen has grown up with the love and support of two amazing and
smart parents. Against community ‘norms’
they have nurtured Rhen’s interest in science as well as her baking skills.
Through
Rhen’s friendship with Seleni, readers encounter a multitude of teenagers, both
stuffy, political Uppers and goofy yet hard-working Lowers; all of whom provide
sarcasm and humor in the way teenagers usually do. (A set of brothers even remind me of Fred and
George Weasley.)
As
the blurb suggests, the cousins do, indeed, enter the scholarship competition disguised
as girls – to best the boys and change their circumstances. Their time spent in the labyrinth is a joy to
read. But this book is so much more than
that. There’s class and gender
inequality, there’s magic in the ever-surprising labyrinth, there’s family love
and young romantic love and tugging on heartstrings.
It’s
a beautiful, touching story that I cannot recommend highly enough.
‘To Best the Boys’ will be available on March 19, 2019.
