Review of Valiant (Modern Faerie Tale #2) by Holly Black

Title: Valiant (Modern Faerie Tale #2)
Author: Holly Black
Pages: 320
Publication Date: May 2005

Back Cover
When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

First Lines

"The tree woman choked on poison, the slow sap of her blood burning. Most of her leaves had already fallen, but those remaining blackened and shriveled along her back.”

My Thoughts

Valiant isn’t technically a sequel to Tithe, but it is a companion book. The characters present in Tithe do make a brief appearance in this book as well.

Valiant was an overall quick, enjoyable read, but I think I enjoyed Tithe more, which is surprising, because the first time I read the series, it was the other way around. I think with Tithe, I had forgotten a lot more of what happened, and with Valiant, I hadn’t, which made a few parts of the book drag a little.

What I liked most about Valiant is that the “hero” (not heroine, which is obviously Valerie) isn’t your typical beautiful faerie male. I think you guys will figure out what I mean when/if you read the book. Valiant was a faerie tale that lacked a lot of elements that we usually associated with the “faerie” world. Not to say it wasn’t good…because this lacking is what made me enjoy the book more overall.

For those of you who haven’t read the book, I’d give it a shot. I think that the writing style and the plot are both good, but this will probably be the last time that I re-read it (not that I have all that much time for re-reading anyways)! If you’re interested in faeries at all, then Black’s world is one you should try out. It’s creative and interesting—and most of you could probably fly through the book in a few hours.

In a Sentence

Valiant is an interesting take on the not-so-beautiful side of the faerie world.
Links

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Rating

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3 hearts = Definitely worth reading, but you might want to try it before you buy it.