Shelf Awareness--The Queen of Nothing

YA Review: The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black (Little, Brown, 320p., ages 14-up, 9780316310420)

Holly Black is an undisputed master craftsperson of all things Faerie. In Queen of Nothing, the conclusion to her spectacular the Folk of the Air trilogy (Cruel Prince; The Wicked King), Prince Cardan faces the prophecy given to him at birth: he will cause "the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne."

As High King of Elfhame, Cardan has married his mortal seneschal--and nemesis--Jude Duarte as part of an elaborate scheme to exile her to the mortal world. Now, Jude restlessly frets over how to get back to Faerieland to reclaim her rightful place as High Queen (without being caught and executed, that is). An opportunity arises when her deceitful twin sister, Taryn, faces an inquest over her husband's death. Taryn begs Jude to impersonate her and convince the High King she is not guilty of the murder she did, in fact, commit. But Cardan, "even more horrifically beautiful" than Jude remembers, knows her immediately. Before they can unravel the current state of their contentious relationship, Jude is kidnapped by former Grand General Madoc, her estranged stepfather. Madoc seeks to dethrone the High King--and therefore Jude as High Queen--which means Jude must decipher Madoc's plans before he figures out who she really is. When a powerful curse is unleashed on the land, Jude must decide just how far she's willing to go in her never-ending pursuit of power.

Black's delectable descriptions of characters and her nonstop pacing will ensure that readers devour The Queen of Nothing as quickly as possible. Masterfully combining court intrigue, romantic drama and the magic of a most dangerous Faerieland, this series-closer is a stand-out ending to a riveting series. --Lynn Becker, blogger and host of Book Talk, a monthly online discussion of children's books for SCBWI.

Discover: Sneaking back into Faerieland, Jude finds herself in the center of a plot to overthrow the High King in the finale to Holly Black's YA series Folk of the Air.