Legendborn
Readers rate it 4.2 (550 on Hardcover)
512 pages · Released Sep 15, 2020 · Margaret K. McElderry Books
Content report card
What's inside
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
Legendborn is a YA fantasy that blends contemporary and magical elements with themes of grief, truth-seeking, and self-discovery. While it contains magical combat and some darker moments, the violence is not graphic, and the story centers on character development and emotional growth. The protagonist's journey to understand her mother's death and navigate a secret magical society will resonate with older teens, though some scenes involving demons and magical conflict may be intense for younger readers.
Analyzed by AI · 1 day ago
Read it with your kids?
Rate it and suggest an age to help other parents.
From the publisher
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of S... An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic. After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Diverse Characters
- Strong Character Development
- Loveable Characters
- A mix driven
- Unloveable Characters
- Character driven
- Weak Character Development
- Plot driven
- Not Diverse Characters
- Magic
- Adventurous
Share this guide
ISBN 9781534441606 · Margaret K. McElderry Books