On her 18th birthday, Selene receives an unusual gift. She is able to enter the dreams of anyone and tap into their greatest fears. Her mother, the ruler of the House of Ravenwood, immediately begins training her to terrorize the servants in their nightmares. Nice mom, right? Parents can be the worst, especially in YA Fantasy.
As firstborn, Selene is slated to become the future leader of her little kingdom, as well as a kind-of nightmare ninja-warrior. Her role will eventually involve manipulating the fears of Ravenwood’s enemies in order to either overpower or kill them.
Selene despises the emotional trauma she inflicts on others, so why doesn’t she just say no? For one, her mother claims that the future of their little kingdom depends on it. Their foes will crush them, the people will go hungry, and so forth. Also, Selene’s biggest fear is that her two younger sisters will be forced to take on the job if she doesn’t. This was one of the most unbelievable motivations, especially since one of her sisters is a real brat. It isn’t until Selene receives instructions to murder her romantic interest that she really begins to try and break free from using her gift.
A major strength of this story is the world building, crafted exquisitely using all the senses. Imagine the varied topography of seven mini-kingdoms–each led by fascinating lords and ladies possessing their own unique magical powers. Let’s not forget the lush costumes, sword fights, and whirling dances.
I probably should have led with this, but The Mark of the Raven is one of the few YA books I’ve read in just a day. This is a huge feat, since I generally have the attention span of a butterfly. After I’m done, here, I’ll be diving into the sequel, The Flight of the Raven, that I was able to snag from my local library. It’s locked and loaded onto my Kindle app. I’m give this book five enthusiastic stars.