The Ones We Burn: the New York Times bestselling dark epic young adult fantasy

Product Information

Guilt would get her nowhere. As the only blood-witch left in the north, she was far more valuable here, in her home, than as some political prisoner in the south. And once she found answers, her coven would have no choice but to believe that, too. She hoped. The Ones We Burn is able to be fun and cute at times, but also deep and heartbreaking in portraying how abuse often comes from the people one loves the most, and the immense strength it takes to shape ourselves into something different, something better than what others raised one to become. And at the center of it all, is the concept that healing is not an easy process, and definitely one that should be undertaken only for oneself, not for anyone else. LAST POINT on these two: I will add that if Galen or Aramis were coded in stereotypical ways, that could be hugely problematic, despite the fact that Mix’s world isn’t drawn along those lines. Her readers come from a world that is. However, while both siblings are tough and compelling, I didn’t find that to be the case.

Blood magic is not always blood libel, especially when it does not contain any blood libelous aspects. It's a fairly universal concept to say "hey, this red stuff inside of us could be magical!" It can also be noted that we do not consider blood magic practiced by Latin-American or Afro-Caribbean cultures to be antisemitic. HOWEVER. Jewish people can be triggered by the inclusion of blood magic because of, you know, centuries of blood libel. I think that people who are affected by this content can read the synopsis and say "wow, this book is not for me, because it includes blood magic, which I am triggered by". (Obligatory; content warnings are not moral or immoral, they are literally just warnings for content). There are going to be light spoilers below but I believe they are necessary given the way public conversation around this book has unfolded.

☆ Follow my Blog ☆

So the book itself. It has a slow start but oh man, the last section of the book is a wild ride, so tense and stressful! You really feel for Ranka, I just wanted to give her a hug, even when she is making a terrible mistake and I also want to kill her! But the best part of this book for me were the side characters. I loved Galen's journey with his magic, it was very touching, and I really enjoyed reading about platonic love between Galen and our FMC! There was a betrayal I saw coming a mile away and yet it still hurt my heart and I was so angry for the kids. As to the book itself: I found it really compelling, especially in a YA fantasy landscape that has felt a bit sparse on unique angles recently.

Honestly, all the characters felt too young—they’re seventeen, but they felt even younger than that!I will just add my observation that Ranka is coded fairly Nordic. As such, her description of "blood magic" lines up with what I’ve read in other Norse or Viking fantasies about bloodlust or battle haze (it’s just described more “magically” here):