Sunday 19 July 2009

Review: Tithe by Holly Black


Tithe by Holly Black
A Modern Faerie tale

Group: YA
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: 336
Published: 2004

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old 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.
(Author's site)

It seems I have had a YA week of the futuristic and paranormal kind. I heard about Tithe long ago from a friend but back then I didn't read YA and didn't see the point. But now I know that they have changed from the few I read some years ago. Not that I will read many now because I have more or less gone through those that looks nice. Those that seems to be books I want to read.

Tithe was a good book, and I truly enjoyed it. I can't belive I hadn't read it before. It's a very dark book and it takes up the normal things a teen goes through, sex, violence, alcohol, and feeling different from others. In that aspect I liked it, it was not a rosy sweet world, but a dark one where she didn't attend school anymore, and everyhting was just dirty and bleak.

If you thought the faerie world was better then you are mistaken. This is how the seelie and unseelie world should look like. They are not a bunch of happy cute faries that Disney made them out to be. In the old stories they are a dark, blood thirsty, baby stealing and people drowning folk. You thread lighly when thinking you are near them and you are careful and use charms to ward them off. I like that Holly Black uses this in her book, and the fairy world is just as dark as ours.

I liked Kaye, she was a good heroine of this book. She is a bit different and she can see things that others can't. Soon enough when back in her hometown she is thrown into a dark world and she will become a pawn in a bigger game. Then there is the dark knight Roiben, well I had to like him too. What was there not to like. Was there even ne charcater that was actually nice and sweet in this book, in a way the answer is no. For some reason I liked that because it was more real. They were nice in their own ways, like her friend Cory. Such a nice guy actually. Good truthful portraits.

I was sucked into this grim world, and I came back up wanting more. There are two more books, the second I can skip but I am curious about book 3 because there we meet Kaye and Roiben again. And I want to know how things turns out.

I would have liked to known why it was called Tithe, I just googled it and still don't know why. Otherwise this was a great book that I do recommened. It was a bit like Wicked Lovely in the faerie aspect but much darker and more true I thought, and better. I really enjoyed this book.




21 comments:

  1. You must read Valiant too. It is a fabulous book. I think I actually enjoyed it more than Tithe.

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  2. I had no idea faeries are dark and blood-thirsty. I've never read a book about them. Now I'm looking forward to it. ;)

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  3. B,

    Great review!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this book. I have both Tithe and Valiant on the tbr shelf - but haven't gotten to them yet. :)

    Enjoy your day.

    M

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  4. I love this one. I highly recommend Valiant and Ironside too.

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  5. Scrap Girl,
    So Valiant is better, hm from the blurb I couldn't have guessed that. Too bad that the library just have that first one. Sucks.

    Anna,
    There some nasty creatures out there in the night. We "have" fairies here that dance you to death. But yes good book.

    Michelle,
    You have both, nice :D I hope you will enjoy them when you finally get to them.
    Hope you're having a great day too

    Anna,
    It was sure good. I so hope I can get the next two when everyone says they are so good too

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  6. I've been meaning to read this one forever...if only my library would get it!

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  7. Great Review B!!!

    This sounds like a delightful story and it's nice there are more to read since you enjoyed it so much. ;)

    I hope you are having a great weekend.

    Best
    L

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  8. I've heard of this one too but of course haven't read it-love the cover though. Did you put up a new header again? You find the coolest headers.

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  9. Somewhere I thought that Tithe was told to us in the book...it's been over a year since I read it so now I can't remember. I really enjoyed this one too!!

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  10. Beth,
    I know that feeling. My library is not big, and well they do mostly have books from this country and our neighbour.

    Lea,
    It sure has been much YA lately. I could sure do with a more adult book now, lol.
    I hope you had a great weekend too.

    Dar,
    yes, a new cover. I do like to change now and again. And had to this time cos something went wrong with the old one.
    Great book, took the chance and read it and I do not regret it.

    Staci,
    perhaps it was, and then when I read the translation it was lost. Or well translated and I didn't think about it.
    But yes good book

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  11. Darker than Wicked Lovely? Sign me up. This is on my tbr list!

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  12. Hi Linda,
    Yes, at least i thought so, and especially at some things that were hinted at.

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  13. Good review! it certainly looks like something I would enjoy. Thankfully most of the YA's I'm looking for are at the library, they just need to be placed on hold :) I'll be putting this on my wishlist.

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  14. Okbolover,
    That is good, I do wish my library had more, but at least they have some :)
    It's a good book so am sure you'll like it

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  15. Glad to hear you enjoyed this one. I just picked it up at my library book sale.

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  16. Debbie,
    I hope you will enjoy it too. One can never know what others will like in the end

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  17. I so want to read this book...

    i have to find the time though... Love your take on this book.... must read...

    E.H>

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  18. I remember being so intrigued by this one's cover when it came out, but I never got around to reading it. Good to know you liked it!

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  19. Aarti,
    I so wish we had that cover but they had made this childish cover, and they didn't have it in the YA section either.
    Still read it and liked it

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  20. Hi Blodeuedd!

    I would love to read this book, it looks excellent. I wonder why it was called Tithe. Tithe is always associated with giving money to someone or thing, and I don't see that here. Still want to read though!

    Dottie :)

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  21. Dottie,
    I know, money, hm, perhaps they said something about a tenth, in Swedish, and since it wasn't #Tithe" I didn't think of it. But I honestly don't know.

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