The Marauders' Island by Tristan J. Tarwater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm really not even sure where to begin with this book.
No, I do know where to begin. If you haven't read this book, you need to go do so. Right now. Buy this book.
I hadn't heard much about The Marauders' Island until I saw it on twitter and even though the person had given it a glowing review, I didn't think that I would be as entertained by the book as I was. You will fall in love with these characters as you get to know them but there will also be times where you dislike their actions. I mean, these are well-rounded, fleshed out characters, so that's how it's supposed to be.
This book follows Azria, a teenage mage, as she is reunited with her mother Apzana, a runaway pirate with a ragtag crew and pretty sweet pirate ship. It seems like a simple adventure story when you realize what Apzana wants Azria to do but as you read the text, you will discover that above the adventure is a story of a mother and daughter healing old wounds and mending their very frayed relationship.
My favorite things about this book is how gender roles play no part and the easy with which sexuality is discussed. There is no big 'coming out' for any of the characters, just casual mentions of their same-sex partner or partners ("His husband and wife pine for him...") and it was so refreshing to have a story that involved Queer characters without their Queerness being front and center stage.
There were a few times the dialogue seemed clumpy, mostly in the beginning when the author was trying to develop the back history of Miz but it honestly took nothing away from the story to me.
I am very, very excited to see where Tristan Tarwater takes us in the next book!
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