Atlantic County Library System

UnCovered review by Marina Smolens, ACLS Brigantine Branch

Elisabeth Scrivener knew for sure of two things: that sorcery was evil, and that, more than anything, she wanted to become a warden for the Great Libraries of Austermeer. But after someone began sabotaging the libraries and turning grimoires into Maleficts (demonic manifestations of damaged grimoires), and her life as she knew it was turned upside down, she had to team up with a demon and a sorcerer, her previously sworn enemies, to make things right again. She learned the world was not as black and white as she had thought, and all of her beliefs and aspirations were thrown into question.

Although SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson is encased in the structure of a young adult fantasy novel set in a Victorian time period, and it brings about all the joy and wonder that the genre has to offer, it feels much more nuanced than that. It evokes reflection on contemporary issues but does so in a subtle way that does not distract from the demon-slaying or the spell-casting magic. As with any great story, it feels timeless and relevant, despite being set in a completely fictional world hundreds of years ago.

The book was fast-paced, genuinely never slow or boring. I couldn’t wait to return to it whenever life asked of me to do things other than to read it. I fell in love with all of the characters and the world that the author had built. It was a classic good vs. evil tale with fantasy and magic and a bit of romance, but with the strangely optimistic reminder that good and evil can, and do, coexist, inside the world, and inside ourselves, and that we must always be open to shifting our perspectives, allowing the pre-existing narratives to change. It seems the only real evil in this story is the inability to empathize, change, and adapt. Redemption is possible, even for monsters.