Tidespeaker

Gr 7 Up–Turner’s debut YA fantasy is a promising story with problems in execution. Corith, an 18-year-old girl whose race is not specified, is a Floodmouth, a type of magician who can command water. After Corith’s best friend, Zennia, leaves to an appointment with one of the Hundred, the rich noble families vying for political power, Corith feels lost without her. When Corith graduates and is placed with the Shearwaters, who live in a remote, foggy island and show little warmth to their new employee, she quickly becomes fearful and paranoid. It seems Zennia also worked for the Shearwaters and died under suspicious circumstances. Corith spends most of her time in her new placement driven to find out what really happened to her friend. She engages in subterfuge in order to gain information, which often puts her at risk. Though the story contains elemental magic, family secrets, and a touch of mystery, readers’ enjoyment will vary based on their ability to handle almost excruciating slow burns and often convoluted worldbuilding that feels like both too much and not enough to make sense. The protagonist’s character feels flat, and readers may not find her compelling enough to continue through the slower parts of the exposition and the somewhat repetitive passages about the setting.