Fairyeater and Heartmender | What We're Reading (Lauricia)

As summer is binge-reading time, I have a stack of books I'd like to share with y'all (for those who don't speak Texan, that's you + all: y'all). Unfortunately, there are more books than there are days to read them in a lifetime. I can't share insights to everything I've recently read and loved, but I can bend the rules a little today and tell you about two (instead of my usual one): Fairyeater by Pam Halter and Heartmender by V. Romas Burton.

Fairyeater by Pam Halter

Fifteen years ago, Tzmet’s father was defeated in his attempt at world domination. Since then, Tzmet has preyed upon the earth fairies in order to weaken their power enough to facilitate her father’s return.

Akeela is a fifteen-year-old with the power to see the aura of living things and the ability to see fairies for what they are, not the disguises they wear. These things, combined with an unusual birthmark that she has to keep hidden, point to Akeela’s future as the next Fairy Guardian. Charged with the task of protecting fairies from the Dark Lord and his daughter Tzmet, Akeela must choose between living the life she wants an fulfilling the purpose for which she was born.

Charged with painful moments of beautiful sacrifice, Fairyeater is a story of facing the difficult truths of life and honoring what is right over what is comfortable, easy, or even greatly desired. I was first drawn to this book by its concept and its cover. I was impacted by this book through its unflinching but gracious treatment of some of the truths about life that contemporary readers desperately need to wrestle with. Fairyeater is an excellent story about sacrifice, love, and finding friendship in unusual places.

Heartmender by V. Romas Burton

Heartmender is the tale of Addie, a teenage girl who lives in a world where hearts are extracted before they can become hard and dead and are then traded for the bearer’s greatest wish. However, Addie’s heart is neither hard nor dead, and her greatest wish is not to be granted at the fair. In order to obtain her wish, Addie must protect her extracted heart from those who seek to possess it and must overcome a series of trials that very few survive.

I was drawn to Heartmender because of its eerie, surreal tone and the realistic but kind depiction of crippling anxiety. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this story, especially for the way it resonates with the cinematic otherworldly feel of Mirrormask and Pan’s Labyrinth. The artistry is hauntingly surreal yet truthful for its depiction of a young woman who must overcome the trials of life that blindside so many of us. An enchanting allegory, Heartmender is a story that will be greatly enjoyed by readers of clean YA fantasy.

Now that I've shared my newest discoveries with you,  I'd love to hear what you've been reading. Let me know your to favorites "so far" in the comments.