A fascinating story that is wrapped in timeless folk and "phaerie" tales from around the world.
Enter the realm of the phaerie tales, where all the stories from childhood live and breathe. There are phaeries, enchanted animals, giant spiders that spin immense webs across the trees, gargoyles, trolls and other creatures of dark legends. Poison by Chris Wooding (Point, ISBN-10: 0439943922) is a dark fantasy novel for young adults that will draw the reader into an eerie realm and hold her there, spellbound and mesmerized.
The Beginning Plot
To say that Poison is a contrary teenager would be an understatement. At sixteen years of age, she is as willful and as argumentative as ever. Never settling with what simply is, Poison feels restless living in the Black Marshes where life is hazardous and troubled. To stay there would mean she would be expected to fall in love, get married, have children, and possibly die of some Black Marsh fever. No, Poison wanted more.
As people have warned since the beginning of time, be careful of what is wished for. One morning, Poison awakes to find her baby sister missing from the crib and a changeling wrapped in her sister's blanket. The phaerie lord had stolen the baby girl in the night. Determined, Poison sets off to find her sister and to rescue her from the phaerie realm. On her way, she meets with unlikely characters, a giant people eating witch, demonic black hounds, an enchanted cat, and, eventually, the master story writer.
Poison travels through the different realms, sometimes facing certain death, with the help of her new friends: a wraith catcher, a shy girl, and a curious cat. These are not typical characters one might expect to find in a dark fantasy novel. None are particularly gorgeous, and Bram, the middle-aged wraith catcher, is not a muscle bound prince. There isn’t a wizard to be found, but the magic, nonetheless, vibrates through the characters surroundings.
Dark Fantasy for Young Adults
Poison captures the imagination as only dark fantasy novels for young adults can. Wrapped in the fairy tales that have been heard since childhood, such as those retold in the books of the Grimm Brothers, the reader immediately gains a sense of familiarity with the setting and characters.
In each chapter, Poison begins to grow up. From a selfish teenage girl in the beginning of the book to a selfless young woman who is wise beyond her years, Poison’s transformation is fascinating. Each danger Poison faces, each stage of her initiation into adulthood, brings the reader closer to her.
