The Gilded Ones

Locations
Call Number: Teen Fiction / Forna, Namina, Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	Due 05-22-2024
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Teen Fiction / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	Due 05-07-2024
Malletts Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	Reshelving
Pittsfield Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Teen Books 4-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Teen Books 0-week checkout	Teen Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Forna, Namina	0-week checkout	Due 04-28-2024

Inspired by the culture of West Africa, a feminist fantasy debut traces the experiences of an intuitive girl who is invited to leave her discriminatory village to join the emperor's army of near-immortal women warriors.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A solid debut novel submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 5, 2022, 10:57pm 3.5/5 stars. So, first some really strong trigger warnings for violence, abuse, and the presence of rape. For a Youth/Young Adult book, there’s a whole lot of trauma (and particularly trauma against teenage girls) and PTSD graphically described in this book. The book is clear why these things are part of the story, but it’s present, repeated, strong, and happens to whole sets of girls (though is described most clearly of a few).

The story overall is an interesting experience in worldbuilding and characters. Some small details really threw me (the equus run on talons? how would that work?). The broad strokes of the story were clever and had unique elements that definitely made the story worthwhile. The bonding and collaboration of a team of young women was a nice touch… it’s a common trope in stories of young men, but “I’ve got your back” among women is less so.

At three-quarters of the way through the book, I thought that there was no way that the story could wrap up in a reasonable place, and it only did so by skipping over massive amounts of time and details that could have easily made this book into a trilogy by itself. I rather wish Forna had, actually. As Harry Potter showed us, YA books absolutely can do a deep dive into a journey, and it’s not always about getting to the big battle scene quickly. This book does wrap up the story in a sufficient place (not a cliff hanger), while leaving obvious places for the story to go from here. But I see so much space where there could have been an initial trilogy to get to here, then a second trilogy to tell the next story. I think too much was glossed over.

So for me, a solid debut novel with creative ideas, good worldbuilding, and excellent characters. There were some storytelling devices and a few details that didn’t work for me as well as I’d have liked, but this is definitely an author I’ll keep my eyes out for as she develops.

Good read but caution for YA submitted by rachelmcglash on July 17, 2023, 9:34pm As the other review states, there is a LOT of trauma in this book. In addition to other warnings mentioned, this can be triggering for those raised in a cult or hyper conservative religious environment. I do appreciate Deka's character development and growth. I will be reading the full series.