Analysis of Legendborn

Summary:

Legendborn follows the story of 16-year-old Bree Matthews just after her mother has died in a car crash. For a couple months, Bree and her father live together, but Bree is relieved to leave her pain behind as her home reminds her constantly of family memories and begin a residential program for intelligent high schoolers at UNC. However, on her first night at UNC, Bree witnesses something she desperately attempts to forget. A flying demon feeding off human energies, while secret "Legendborn" students hunt the demons down. While a fellow student mage who is referred to as a "Merlin" fails to wipe Bree's memory of what she witnessed, a promising discovery is made. Bree's own magic is revealed, and things get personal for her when a hidden and mysterious memory is unlocked- there was another Merlin at the hospital the night her mother died. Bree embarks on a journey to find the truth about her mother's death and is faced with a decision to use her magic to end the society or join their fight. Read Legendborn to find out what happens in this captivating novel.

Critical Analysis:

This novel is a great selection for a culturally responsive classroom. There is a lot of diversity in the ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds of the characters. In addition, this book provides a break from the typical "white savior" novel that is much too present in American literature. The diversity in this novel is crucial to the storyline and Bree's story. The main theme of Bree's story is her finding her identity and learning more about her own background. This promotes a positive message to students about self-discovery and inquiry about our backgrounds. This novel appreciates black resilience from an authentic perspective. Because Tracy Deonn based so much of Bree's story and character off her own life and experiences, the reader gets a very genuine view into a black female's perspective. Therefore, this novel provides both a valid mirror for students that are represented in the novel, and an insightful window for students who are not directly represented in the novel but instead learn from reading about differing perspectives. Furthermore, this book provides a healthy look at the reality of the grieving process, as it is vital to the storyline and character development and not sugarcoated in this particular novel. Therefore, I think that this widens the audience that can relate to the novel and many students have experienced intense trauma and can benefit from reading a realistic take on the process of grief. Tracy Deonn did an excellent job of capturing her own grief process of her mother's death in this novel, and it really shows. Because of these main factors, I consider this text a culturally responsive novel that should be on bookshelves in high schools and libraries across America.