Monsters Born and Made

June 15, 2022
A young woman defies the caste system by entering a competition reserved for the elite. In Sollonia, a world where the line between upper-caste Landers and lower-caste Renters is strictly defined, Koral's family is condemned to fall in between. As a Hunter, a member of a Renter subcaste, she captures and trains maristags--deadly, temperamental sea monsters--for Landers participating in the Glory Race, a lethal chariot competition in which only one Champion is crowned. Forced to serve Landers but shunned by Renters as sellouts, her family's crippling debt worsens when they fail to capture a maristag and can't afford the medicine for Koral's ailing younger sister. Driven by desperation and rage, Koral risks it all to sneak into the Glory Race. While other competitors have spent their lives training, Koral must rely on pure grit and her knowledge of maristags to stand a chance of surviving and saving her family. The Landers are determined to destroy her, but the Freedom's Ark, a fractious and riotous band of rebels, may prove to be her downfall. Berwah's worldbuilding is intense, depicting a cruel society in which the power-hungry elite are just as monstrous as the terrifying oceanic beasts. Readers will feel the rawness of Koral's suffering, beg for a reprieve for her, and question how she can possibly still be alive after being ridiculed, chased, and attacked at every turn. Characters are diverse in physical appearance. For dystopian fantasy fans seeking something fresh and savage. (Fantasy. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2022
Berwah fuses a South Asian–inspired caste system with elements of classical mythology in this high-stakes debut. Sixteen-year-old Koral’s island home, Sollonia, is divided into two segments: the lower-caste Renters and the upper-caste Landers. As Renters, Koral, her level-headed older brother Emrik, and her younger sister Liria, whose asthma limits her mobility, have few options in life. To pay for Liria’s medicine, Koral and Emrik risk their lives daily to capture and breed dangerous maristags—bright green, amphibious monsters who dwell in the dark waters surrounding the island—which they then sell to Landers. Maristags are needed for the Glory Race, a ruthless chariot competition whose winning champion earns a lifetime of gold and glory. Renters can’t enter the competition, but when the last maristag gets loose, increasing her family’s debt and imperiling Liria’s health, Koral resolves to enter, win, and clear their dues. As she schemes her way through the race, she must face down elite opponents—and rebels from her own caste determined to see her fail. Though familiar dystopian worldbuilding and tropes at times constrain the narrative, fluid prose and a breakneck pace ensures
a wild ride from start to finish. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency.

August 1, 2022
Grades 8-12 In oceanic Sollonia, where a caste system prevails, Koral and her family of Hunters are reviled by elite Landers and lower caste Renters alike. Existing as a subcaste of Renters, they are bound to capture maristags---powerful and temperamental creatures of the sea--for Landers competing in the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament where only one champion is rewarded in gold. The fate of Koral's ailing sister is sealed when she and her brother, Emrik, fail to catch a maristag at the end of hunting season, leaving no money to buy her medicine. As the family faces ruin, Koral cheats her way into the tournament to save her family. Berwah's debut thrusts readers into a chilling world where sea creatures aren't the only monsters to fear. Although the novel revolves around the Glory Race, little time is spent within its heart-hammering realm. Instead, it speaks to the societal divisions created by the oppressive nature of castes, spurred on here by the resurgence of a rebel group. Recommended for readers seeking a meaningful character-driven fantasy.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2022

Gr 8 Up-In this South Asian-inspired fantasy novel, 16-year-old Koral finds herself with many enemies. The world she lives in contains two main castes-the Landers are wealthy, while the Renters are poor. Koral belongs to the Hunters, a subcaste that everyone looks down on. Koral's family has hunted maristag for generations so that the Landers can use them to participate in the Glory Race. Liria, Koral's sister, is sick and the family cannot afford her medicine. Koral's father is harsh and does not seem to take care of his family, leaving it to Koral and her brother, Emrik. Koral offends everyone, even people at the black market, so her only choice is to enter the Glory Race and win against those who have trained their whole lives. Hunters are not allowed to enter the race, so when Koral shows up, she has a target on her back-but it turns out a group called Noah's Ark is just as dangerous. This book will instantly remind readers of The Hunger Games and Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. It never sets itself apart from those classics, however. Koral isn't a heroine that readers genuinely get to know and root for, and with that missing component, the story falls short. VERDICT Overall, this is not a necessary purchase for libraries.-Michelle Lettus

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