REVIEW: Tithe by Holly Black

            Sixteen-year-old Kaye is modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother’s rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms—a struggle that could very well mean her death.

            First off, Merry Early Christmas everybody! Second, Tithe by Holly Black is hands down one of my all-time favorite books ever. That being said, there are still a few things that could have been better, favorite author/book or not.

            The first thing that still jars me a little to this day, even after many a reread, is the awkward continuation of the book after the tithe ceremony. It was just such a good time to end the book but then it weirdly continued on. Sure, there was still more of the story to be told, but it just felt like the end of book one.

            Granted, I totally understand book deals and all that mumbo jumbo so there probably wasn’t a potential two-book deal or anything even though there needed to be one. The rest of the story had to be told, but with it came an uncomfortable hump in the story.

            Another thing that bugged me was the very end of the book. Seriously, Kaye? If you’ve read the story, you’ll understand my frustrations with her.

            Aside from that, there’s only praise from me. However, if this were any other book, that hump in the middle would have docked the book at least one whole star. It’s that awkward.

            Let’s get to the characters: they’re grungy and flawed and totally real. A lot of people will call these urban characters too over the top and unreal, but hellooooo it’s a book and I’m not entirely unconvinced that urban teens aren’t identical to those in the book.

            I think Kaye is an awesome protagonist. She’s lived her whole life on the move and not only has this made her fiercely independent, but also quite sassy. And I love sassy. She straight up commands a faerie knight to kiss her ass. Lovely.

            Corny is also a great character, mainly because he’s such a raw character. He’s homosexual, but not in the overly effeminine sort of way that is way overused. Corny is such a ****ed up character (excuse my wingding), and that’s refreshing. You don’t get to read a lot of characters like Corny, especially not in YA.

            Then there’s Roiben, with whom I am completely in love. Sure, it’s a little unreasonable. I’m a piddly blogger, and he’s a sexy faerie knight in love with a pixie. It could still happen!

            All of the characters were great though, and that definitely helped my eyes glaze over the awkward plot humps and hurries. It’s Black’s first solo book, so there’s obviously going to be a few mistakes. The fact of the matter, however, is that this book is dark and gritty when not so many are in the YA world (at least not back when Tithe was published). It really opened not only my eyes, but also those of the YA readership to the dark potential of faerie tales, and that’s a rather amazing accomplishment.

            There are plenty of people either on the love side of the Tithe fence or the hate side. Not many dare to sit on top of the fence, including myself. I’m clearly living in a condo on the love side, and that’s not likely ever going to change. Tithe is definitely a great book to check out if you love stories involving dark matter and faeries. Happy Holidays and Happy Reading. May your presents be plentiful with books.

XOXO Tia