Fable

Fable
Adrienne Young
Wednesday/St. Martins, 2020
353 pages
Grades 9-Up
Adventure/Fantasy

Fable has been stranded for four years on the most dangerous island of her world, filled with thieves and murderers. Her only defenses are the survival skills and life rules that she learned from her despicable ship-captain father and the ability to decipher gems and work as a dredger, skills she learned from her deceased mother. Now at age 17, Fable has stored away enough coin to escape this treacherous place and locate the father who abandoned her. She pays a young captain, West to take her to a nearby island and to-hopefully-her destiny. West's ragtag crew are less than thrilled to have her on board and consider Fable to be a bad luck charm. She must prove herself to the crew and establish her place among them. Finally Fable locates her father, only he is even more successful and harsh than she remembers him. Worst of all, he wants nothing to do with her. How will she survive in this dangerous world and navigate her way through it? Meanwhile, the crew of the Marigold has secrets of their own and they must find a way to trust Fable for them all to survive the dangerous seas--and its ruthless inhabitants.

I was drawn to Fable by its beautiful cover. The intriguing young, yet fierce, woman on the cover holds up among the pages of this thrilling read. Teens drawn to pirate stories and adventurous, light fantasy in alternative worlds will find much to enjoy in this exciting duology. Fable, the novel's main character, is both ruthless and vulnerable. Readers will empathize with her immediately and root for her as she seeks security and fortune. It is hard to know at first which secondary characters to trust, yet it all shakes out and Fable's new found family, the crew of the Marigold, will become endearing to the reader as well. The book reads exceedingly fast, party due to its breakneck speed, and proves hard to put down. There are moments of excessive violence, horrible living situations, and sexual moments, making this a book for older teens with a strong stomach. The story ends on a crazy cliffhanger, practically begging readers to pick up the second volume, Namesake, thankfully, already released.