The Brilliant Death | TheBookSeekers

The Brilliant Death


School year: Lower 6th, Year 10, Year 11

No. of pages 384

Published: 2019

Great for age 12-18 years

Add this book to your 'I want to read' list!

By clicking here you can add this book to your favourites list. If it is in your School Library it will show up on your account page in colour and you'll be able to download it from there. If it isn't in your school library it will still show up but in grey - that will tell us that maybe it is a book we should add to your school library, and will also remind you to read it if you find it somewhere else!

Since childhood, Teodora has harbored a secret: she is a strega, blessed (or cursed) with transformative powers beyond her control. For years, she has used them to make enemies of her powerful Mafia family disappear, turning them into decorative objects. When the Capo, her nation's ruler, launches an attack on her family that leaves her father in a coma-like state, Teodora must find a way to transform herself into a boy and travel across the mountains to the Capo's palace to fight for her family. Her fate lies in the hands of Cielo, a shape-shifting strega who wants to help Teodora master her powers. But as Teo and Cielo make their way to the palace, and closer and closer to one another, they both discover that the Capo's motives are far more sinister than they ever could have imagined and that in a world of shifting alliances where anything and anyone can change, the only constant you can count on is love.

 

 

This book is aimed at children at US 9th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 14 years.

There are 384 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2019 by Penguin Putnam Inc .

 

Raves for The Brilliant Death

"A delicious and magical intrigue too tempting not to devour." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

 

"A highly original magic system and a protagonist who is as ruthless as she is fiery make for a fast-paced adventure." --School Library Journal, starred review

 

 

"Mario Puzo meets Ursula Le Guin in a gender and genre bending tale as lush as it is vivid, and as daring as it is dangerous. The hype is deserved and the magic is real."--Alex London, bestselling author of Proxy and Black Wings Beating

 

 

"The Brilliant Death is a mesmerizingly written tale of identity, courage and family, wrapped up in magic that feels both folktale-familiar and enthrallingly innovative."--Alwyn Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of Rebel of the Sands

"Writing so good it will give you goosebumps, and a story that will sweep you into a wild adventure full of old magic, new love, and dark delight."--Alison Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of Eon and Eona

 

 

"This first in a duology is a luminously imagined, Italian-inspired fantasy that thoughtfully speaks to ideas of gender perception and identity. A rich world, with much left to be explored in the next volume." - Booklist

 

 

"One of the most artful, gorgeous, romantic books in the LGBTQIAP YA canon." - B&N Teen Blog

"A unique mashup of fantasy, historical fiction, and queer romance... the kind of book you won't be able to stop talking about." - Bustle