The Bright & the Pale

January 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-Valeria, a 17-year-old orphan, is drafted to join an elite, secretive group called the Thieves Guild. The guild operates in Strana, a fantasy nation similar to Russia that is ruled by the Czar. When Vlaeria is tasked with retrieving a valuable resource that will be used to overthrow the Czar, the mission is compromised and she is asked to make a perilous journey. Valeria joins a new group of mysterious adventurers on a trek to her ice-plagued home to retrieve lovite, Strana's most valuable resource, which turns the villagers' skin paper-white. As Valeria travels closer to home, secrets are revealed and she has tough choices to make. Debut author Rubinkowski paints a vivid picture of this mythological, Russia-esque land where fairy tales come to life and adventure rolls over every page. While some aspects of the story that are introduced get seemingly forgotten, the threads that are pursued are thoroughly fleshed out and envelope the reader in a riveting fantasy tale. VERDICT Hand this to readers who enjoy Leigh Bardugo and are looking for a similar fantasy world to dive into.-Maryjean Riou, Hunterdon Cty. Lib., Flemington, NJ

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2021
An orphaned thief finds herself on an unexpected journey to meet her destiny. Seventeen-year-old Valeria has worked as an operative for the Thieves Guild since she lost her family in the Freeze of Ludminka. The freeze cut off access to lovite, the country's most precious mineral resource, and left everyone in the mining village frozen in place except for her. When a guild mission goes awry, Valeria is intercepted by a man named Ivan who claims to be harboring her best friend, Alik, whom she had presumed to be dead following a mission a year before. Ivan promises her a safe reunion with Alik if she will join his party on a quest back to Ludminka to penetrate the mountain containing unharvested lovite deposits. Little does Valeria know that she is the key to entering the frozen environs of the mountain and that she will have a pivotal role to play in the war of the Brother Gods, the Bright and the Pale, who have awakened from their slumber to prepare for battle with one another. The icy atmosphere of this Russian-inflected debut novel is vividly rendered, and the briskly paced plot moves the story along through multiple twists, turns, and betrayals. There is some queer representation among White Valeria's compatriots; unfortunately, the representation of the brown-skinned Adamanian people, adept with explosives and ruled by a khan who takes concubines for his harem, evokes Islamophobic stereotypes. An atmospheric series opener well suited for a cold winter's night but marred by careless tropes. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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