Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn is filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system.
Title: Legendborn
Author: Tracy Deonn
Published: september 2020
Pages: 512
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating: 9/10
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
First posted in Dutch on November 25 2020 and updated on May 6 2025.
Contemporary meets fantasy
In the fantasy book The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen the main character takes into account the fact that she can get her period during her journey, so she takes a number of herbs so that this does not happen for a while. I love these kinds of little things. Because seriously… I often think about certain stories: but how? Do you never have to go to the toilet? And how nice that you apparently do not have your period, that is so convenient.
In Legendborn similar situations are mentioned as in The Merciful Crow, such as washing afro hair. For anyone who does not know: that is a process that takes a few hours. Details like this make books realistic, even when it is a fantasy.
You could also see the contemporary edge in other things in the story. I often miss a thought process in fantasy, because no time! Before you know it, they have to fight the next monster. No, in Legendborn the author really took the time for the main character’s thought process.
Mourning
The author, Tracy Deonn, has already quite a lot to deal with in her life. At a young age, she lost a number of loved ones who were very close to her. She has beautifully expressed that pain in her debut. There are multiple forms of mourning and Deonn has described that very well in Legendborn.
Speaking of the author’s writing style, it can be called downright impressive. The way she connects the smallest details with the main line of the story, realistic characters and then also a plot that is unpredictable! It doesn’t come completely out of the blue for you as a reader, but there are certainly many unexpected things in the story that can all be traced if you look at the details.
Deonn has created intense and lifelike settings for the readers. In her books, she also deals with the grim reality of the American South. It didn’t come across to me as if she wanted to shock the reader or as an educational read, but because it really happened and can’t be ignored. The author has found a good balance between fantasy and modern reality.
Main character
Bree Matthews, the main character, is not defined by one aspect of herself, but is multifaceted and imperfect. Here too, the author shows how she wanted to create such a lifelike world. Bree is a strong person and while discovering who she is, she grows even more as a person. Her reactions are recognisable from doubts to clumsy and incredibly smart moments. Bree is a character I would like to get to know even better and luckily I can, because there are two more installments out now!
A good story, with elaborate details and a plot that fits together fantastically, made Legendborn one of my favorite books of 2020!
Love,
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