CANR

1. The reluctant queen LCCN 2016038530 Type of material Book Personal name Durst, Sarah Beth, author. Main title The reluctant queen / Sarah Beth Durst. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2017] Projected pub date 1707 Description pages cm. ISBN 9780062413352 (hardcover) Library of Congress Holdings Information not available. 2. Roar and Sparkles go to school LCCN 2016945287 Type of material Book Personal name Durst, Sarah Beth. Main title Roar and Sparkles go to school / Sarah Beth Durst, Ben Whitehouse. Published/Produced Philadelphia, PA : Running Press Kids, 2017. Projected pub date 1706 Description pages cm ISBN 9780762459865 (hardcover : alk. paper) CALL NUMBER Not available Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms 3. Journey across the Hidden Islands LCCN 2016016161 Type of material Book Personal name Durst, Sarah Beth, author. Main title Journey across the Hidden Islands / Sarah Beth Durst. Published/Produced Boston ; New York : Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2017] Projected pub date 1704 Description pages cm ISBN 9780544706798 (hardback) Library of Congress Holdings Information not available. 4. The queen of blood LCCN 2015044319 Type of material Book Personal name Durst, Sarah Beth, author. Main title The queen of blood / Sarah Beth Durst. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2016] Projected pub date 1610 Description pages cm. ISBN 9780062413345 (hardcover) Library of Congress Holdings Information not available.

• Happy Ever After - http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/09/20/sarah-beth-durst-interview-queen-of-blood/

  Sarah Beth Durst stumbled (literally) onto the idea for ‘The Queen of Blood’
  91
  SHARES
  By: Joyce Lamb | September 20, 2016 12:01 am
  Sarah Beth Durst
  Sarah Beth Durst

  Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Sarah! Please tell us a bit about your new release, The Queen of Blood.

  Sarah: The Queen of Blood is the first book in the Queens of Renthia, a new epic fantasy series from Harper Voyager. It’s set in a world filled with nature spirits … but these aren’t your sweet, frolicking, pastoral sprites. No, these spirits want to kill all humans, and only certain women have the power to control them. In The Queen of Blood, Daleina, an idealistic young student who is not innately all that powerful but is determined to protect her people, teams up with Ven, a banished warrior who is the only one fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. It’s filled with political intrigue, violent magic and adventure.

  Joyce: What inspires your book ideas?

  Sarah: I can trace the idea for this series to a single moment: I had just arrived at a writing retreat in the Poconos. It was this idyllic place, a wood cabin nestled in the woods, and I was walking up to the cabin, marveling at the trees, reveling in the bird song … and not watching my feet. I went to step up onto the porch of the cabin, my toes caught on the first stair, and I fell with an overly dramatic splat. Cut my lip. So when I sat down to brainstorm my next story idea, I was thinking about trees and blood … and *boom* story!

  That’s how it happens sometimes (albeit usually with less clumsiness involved). You’ll get an idea — or a snippet of an idea — from something unexpected and random that you see or hear or dream, and then other ideas will glom onto it until it grows into a full-out novel.

  The trick is to allow it to grow and not squash it too early. There’s a tendency to label an idea good or bad the instant it appears in your head. Don’t do that. That’s like yanking a carrot out of the ground to see how it’s growing. Just leave it there, let it grow, and if it’s meant to be, it will take root. And I guess turn orange if I’m following this analogy…? OK, maybe not orange. But it will grow, if you let it.

  the-queen-of-blood-by-sarah-beth-durstJoyce: What do you do when you get stuck?

  Sarah: Keep writing. Also, eat chocolate.

  Seriously, though, for me, the best cure for any kind of writer’s block is to keep stringing words together until the writing starts flowing again. It helps if you tell yourself that no one will ever see these sentences — you’re just playing — and then out of that playing will often come a little seed, even if it’s just a few words, that can get you back on track.

  As for the chocolate, I recommend Raisinets. The fruit inside makes them practically a health food, right?

  Joyce: Of course!

  Do you write by the seat of your pants (pantser), or do you carefully plot your stories (plotter)?

  Sarah: I always outline. But it’s usually a vague sort of outline that includes bullet points like, “Something cool happens here,” or “Chapter full of awesome stuff.” And I give myself full permission to ignore the outline if a new character or plot twist pops up while I’m writing. I love both having a map so that I can see the scope of the story and feeling free to discover new quirks and layers in my characters and world.

  Joyce: Is there a TV show that you’ve recently binge-watched?

  Sarah: I love shows about people achieving impossible dreams, like So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice and Project Runway. Also, the Olympics falls into that category, too. Watched a lot of that this past summer. I especially love rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized diving. Personally, I’d be far too terrified to even climb up on that ridiculously high platform, much less fling myself off it, but I love watching those athletes — and the dancers, singers and designers from the other shows — reach for their dreams. As someone who believes in chasing dreams, I very much identify with all of them.

  As far as scripted shows, lately I’ve been watching Elementary — such great character development, and I’m a sucker for well-written dialogue.

  Joyce: What’s your favorite snack and/or beverage while you’re writing? Besides Raisinets, of course.

  Sarah: I like to have a glass of water and a stash of chocolate nearby. Also, I tend to graze throughout the day. One of the best perks of being a writer who works at home is easy access to the fridge.

  Gwen claims a corner of Sarah's keyboard.
  Gwen claims a corner of Sarah’s keyboard.

  Joyce: Do you have a pet that hangs out with you while you’re working?

  Sarah: Gwen is my writing partner. She’s a 1-year-old, extremely soft, gray cat who likes to curl around my neck while I write. She also likes to walk across the keyboard and activate Caps Lock, which is somewhat less charming.

  Joyce: What’s coming next?

  Sarah: The second book in the trilogy, The Reluctant Queen, will be coming out in early summer 2017, and I am really excited about it! The wonderful thing about working on a series is that I don’t have to say goodbye to the characters. Writing a novel is often such an immersive experience, and I find it wrenching to come out of that world and say goodbye. So it’s been wonderful that I don’t have to!

  Also coming in 2017 is my next middle-grade novel, Journey Across the Hidden Islands, which is about two princesses, a winged lion and a whole lot of monsters. And my first picture book, Roar and Sparkles Go to School, about a pair of brother and sister dragons on the first day of school. Also in 2017, my YA novel Drink Slay Love will be a Lifetime TV movie, starring Cierra Ramirez and Gregg Sulkin! It should be a busy year. 🙂

  Thanks so much for interviewing me!

  Joyce: Thanks, Sarah!

  About The Queen of Blood:

  Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

  But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.

  With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.

• Dark Faerie Tales - http://darkfaerietales.com/author-interview-queen-blood-sarah-beth-durst.html

  September 13th, 2016
  Posted in Interview | Comments Off on Author Interview: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

  Sarah Beth DurstPlease welcome author Sarah Beth Durst! She’s here today with an interview about her new novel The Queen of Blood! It’s an adult epic fantasy / YA crossover, the first in a new series, called The Queens of Renthia, and it’s about bloodthirsty nature spirits and the women who can control them. If you like novels about the heroine who is the underdog then you’ll want to check out Deleina’s story for the setting is richly wonderful yet terrifying. If you like YA fantasy then you will definitely want to check this one out. The Queen of Blood will be released on September 20, 2016 from Harper Voyager. Read my review here for more information! I can tell you that after reading this interview, I’m already excited for the sequel!

  About Sarah:

  Sarah Beth Durst is the author of ten fantasy novels for adults, teens, and kids, including Conjured, Vessel, and Ice. Her latest book for kids, The Girl Who Could Not Dream, came out in November 2015 from HMH/Clarion Books, and her next novel for adults, The Queen of Blood, comes out in September 2016 from Harper Voyager. Sarah won the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for SFWA’s Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat.

  You can visit Sarah around the web here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

  Want to read more from Sarah Beth Durst?

  Into the Wild Out of the WildThe LostThe Queen of BloodIceDrink, Slay, LoveVesselConjuredChasing PowerThe Girl Who Could Not Dream

  _________________________________________________________________________________

  Dark Faerie Tales: Can you start things off by telling us a little bit about Queen of Blood?

  Sarah: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD is the first book in a new epic fantasy series from Harper Voyager called THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA. It’s about a world filled with nature spirits… but these aren’t your cheerful, frolicking, pastoral sprites. These spirits want to kill all humans. Only certain women — queens — have the power to control them.

  It was a lot of fun to write. :)

  DFT: Daleina was constantly underestimated because of her inability to control the spirits. What was it about Daleina that had you wanting to tell her story? Why is Daleina a perfect candidate to be heir?

  Sarah: Daleina is not a perfect candidate, and that’s exactly why I wanted to tell her story. She’s not the Chosen One. There aren’t any prophecies about her. She has no secret talents. No one gifts her with a magic sword or amulet. She’s a mediocre student with only a modicum of power. But she wants to protect her family and save her people, and she’s willing to work hard to do it.

  I wanted to write about a character whose true “magic” is her determination.

  DFT: Did Ven only choose Daleina as the heir candidate because she told on him? Or was there something else that he saw in her that made him decide to choose her?

  Sarah: He chooses her because she wants to be queen for the right reasons. To him, that’s more important than possessing raw power. At its core, this series is all about power — who has it, who wants it, what you do with it, and what it does to you.

  DFT: Who is your favorite character in Queen of Blood? Why?

  Sarah: Probably Daleina. Or Ven, my brave banished warrior. Or Merecot, because she made me laugh. Or Bayn, because he’s a wolf. Or… I don’t know. I fell in love with all my characters (even the ones I didn’t mean to care about because I knew their fate!).

  One of the hardest parts of writing is finishing a book and having to say goodbye to all the characters that you’ve been living with and have fallen in love with. But one of the best things about writing a series is that I don’t have to say goodbye yet!

  DFT: Merecot was one character that stuck with me. Will we see more of Merecot in a later novel?

  Sarah: Yes! I don’t think I can say any more without spoilers, except an emphatic YES!

  DFT: Queen of Blood is the first in the series. Can you give us a sneak peek at what we can look forward to in the next novel or novels? I know I can’t wait!

  Sarah: You won’t have to wait a full year after THE QUEEN OF BLOOD. THE RELUCTANT QUEEN (book two) will be out early next summer, and THE QUEEN OF SORROW (book three) will be ten months after that.

  THE RELUCTANT QUEEN continues Daleina’s story, plus adds a new main character: Naelin, a woman who (unlike Daleina) possesses immense power, but she refuses to use it because she knows that people who use their power tend to die young, and she doesn’t want to leave her two children motherless.

  DFT: What novels/authors did you draw inspiration from in writing Queen of Blood?

  Sarah: I think it’s important to try to write the kind of book you love to read. In fact, I think instead of “write what you know,” the saying should be “write what you love.”

  I love the kind of book that sweeps you away on a journey and then brings you back again, maybe slightly changed. And my favorite authors are the ones who made me fall in love with fantasy in the first place, when I was a shy ten-year-old kid hiding in the library: Robin McKinley, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Tamora Pierce, Guy Gavriel Kay, Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, etc.

  DFT: The world that you have created in Queen of Blood is equally as beautiful as it is scary. Would you want to live in this world? If so, where would you see yourself in the hierarchy of this world, i.e. heir, hedgewitch, queen, commoner?

  Sarah: Renthia is a world of extreme beauty — massive forests, sky-piercing mountains, endless glaciers — and I’d love to live there… except for the fact that I’d probably last about ten minutes before I was eaten, torn apart, or buried alive.

  DFT: What is your favorite fairytale/folk tale? Why?

  Sarah: Beauty and the Beast. It’s the first fairy tale I remember reading where the princess wasn’t asleep or dead. Plus in both Robin McKinley’s retelling BEAUTY and the Disney movie, there’s a magnificent library!!!

  Thanks so much for interviewing me!

  _________________________________________________________________________________

  queenofbloodcover_hires

  Available September 20, 2016 from Harper Voyager

• Unbound Worlds - http://www.unboundworlds.com/2016/09/sarah-beth-durst-knows-queen-blood/

  Quoted in Sidelights: This book was born in a moment of supreme klutziness. I’d just arrived at a writing retreat in the Poconos, and I was walking up to my cabin — each writer was given an adorable wood cabin nestled beneath the pine trees — and I was marveling at the trees, reveling in the bird song, and not watching my feet. I tripped. Fell on my face. Cut my lip. And that’s when I had the idea: bloodthirsty nature spirits!

  Sarah Beth Durst Knows The Queen of Blood
  By SHAWN SPEAKMAN
  September 20, 2016

  Cover detail of The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.
  Sarah Beth Durst knows the spirits in the trees.

  As you will read in the interview below, it is oftentimes our connection with the natural world that leads to the best fantasy ideas.

  AMAZON
  BARNES & NOBLE
  INDIEBOUND
  IBOOKS
  EDITOR'S NOTE
  To learn more about Sarah Beth Durst, follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@SarahBethDurst), and on her website at www.sarahbethdurst.com.

  It is also the reason author Terry Brooks loved The Queen of Blood. As his webmaster, we talk about books every week. I’m usually reading the same novel that I was the previous week, being so busy. But Brooks is a voracious reader, finishing several books in a matter of days.

  Two months ago, he gushed about The Queen of Blood, describing the nature spirits, the massive trees, and the compelling characters. He gave the book a blurb, something he doesn’t do for just any book. “What a great story! A truly wonderful fantasy novel which doubles as an allegory for our own earthly struggle between Man and Nature. Filled with fresh ideas and excitement, told with verve and heart. This book deserves a wide readership, and I think it will find one.”"A truly wonderful fantasy novel which doubles as an allegory for our own earthly struggle between Man and Nature." —Terry Brooks

  I have learned over the years to trust Brooks. Some of the books he’s recommended? The Golden Compass. A Name of the Wind. Red Rising. Annihilation. And many more. I asked the editor of The Queen of Blood for a copy and was soon just as enchanted as he was.

  And now, luckily, Sarah Beth Durst took some time off making protective charms to talk to Unbound Worlds.

  Let’s hope the nature spirits don’t find out!

  uw-xsmall

  UNBOUND WORLDS: The Queen of Blood is in bookstores this week! Tell our readers about the book and its characters Daleina and Ven.

  SARAH BETH DURST: Yay! I’m so happy it’s out in the world! It’s such a surreal yet wonderful feeling when a book hits the shelves — you spend so long tromping around in a world that only exists inside your own head, and then you invite other people in to adventure with you.

  My new book, The Queen of Blood, is the first book in a new epic fantasy series from Harper Voyager called The Queens of Renthia. It’s set in a world filled with nature spirits… but these aren’t sweet, frolicking pastoral sprites. These spirits want to kill all humans, and only certain women — queens — have the power to control them.

  Daleina is an idealistic young student who wants to protect her family and right the wrongs in her land. But that’s not supposed to be her destiny. In truth, she’s a mediocre student with only a modicum of power. She has to work hard to even be on the same playing field as others. Her only true “magic” is her determination. She joins forces with Ven, a banished warrior, to fight against a growing number of spirit attacks.

  At its core, the series is about power — who has it, who wants it, what you do with it, and what it does to you.

  UW: The world-building here is wonderful. Humans living in massive trees, surrounded by spirits that want the humans dead. Why trees? And how did you come up with the types of spirits you would use in the novel?

  SBD: This book was born in a moment of supreme klutziness. I’d just arrived at a writing retreat in the Poconos, and I was walking up to my cabin — each writer was given an adorable wood cabin nestled beneath the pine trees — and I was marveling at the trees, reveling in the bird song, and not watching my feet. I tripped. Fell on my face. Cut my lip. And that’s when I had the idea: bloodthirsty nature spirits!

  There are six kinds of spirits in Renthia: fire, ice, water, air, earth, and wood, and I wanted them to be both beautiful and deadly. Once I made that decision, I was free to make them as glorious as I wanted. My favorite is an air spirit that looks like an ermine with bat wings — I picture it as looking a bit like Falcor from “The Neverending Story.” Except this Falcor wants to rip your limbs off and feast on your flesh.

  UW: How did you go about making Daleina and Ven compelling? Did the world-building help you do this or were they formed first?

  SBD: Daleina and Ven grew out of their world. With Daleina, I knew I wanted to write about an ordinary person who does extraordinary things, but it’s her experiences with her family and the spirits that shape her. With Ven… I started with an image of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, crossed with a bit of Robin Hood, and then let the story transform him into his own person.

  UW: As his webmaster, I speak to Terry Brooks often. He raved about The Queen of Blood several months ago, having gotten an early copy. What does his opinion mean to you as a writer?

  SBD: Okay, this requires backstory. Cue the flashback music and swirly light effects.

  About 30 years ago: I’d read pretty much everything in the kids’ section of the library and was much too shy to venture into the teen section where all the teens hung out. So my mom brought me up to the fantasy shelves in the grown-up section and handed me a stack of books. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks was one of them. I’d never read a story like this, with a world that enveloped me so completely and a quest that made me want to pick up a sword and traipse off into the wilderness. I fell in love with epic fantasy and knew this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: I wanted to write fantasy.

  About 20 years ago: I was still determined to be a writer and had just completed my very first novel-length manuscript, but I’d never met a real, live author. I think in the back of my mind, I assumed all writers were mythical. Or dead. Then I saw a flyer stapled to a phone pole, “Book Event at MIT Coop: Terry Brooks.” So I went, and after Terry Brooks finished signing books, he talked to me for forty-five minutes, being wise, inspiring, and encouraging. I left elated and feeling as if I could do this! I could live my dream! Terry said so.

  About 10 years ago: I’d just published my first novel and was scheduled to be on a panel at NY Comic Con. I saw that Terry Brooks was also going to be there. So I gathered up my courage, introduced myself to him, and told him how much he’d inspired me a decade earlier. A few months later, he emailed to say he’d read and liked my book! After shrieking loudly enough to scare the cat and then dancing around the house for a while, I kept writing, because that’s what writers do.

  Present-day: Despite being incredibly busy with his own new book, Terry Brooks took the time to read an early copy of The Queen of Blood and send me one of the best emails I’ve ever received, which included the quote you’ll see on the book itself. I hadn’t expected him to even remember me — we’d only met twice, a decade apart, and I’m certain he’s inspired hundreds of other writers in the meantime. But he did remember! And he said such wonderful things!!

  His kind words about my book mean so much to me because he and his books helped shape who I am. And I know my ten-year-old self would be turning cartwheels if she knew.

  UW: As you said earlier, The Queen of Blood is your first foray into adult fantasy. How is writing for adult readers different from the young adult? Is there a difference? Or is it all marketing?

  SBD: The writing process itself is the same. You create characters, fall in love with them, make terrible things happen to them, and then watch them come out the other side. (That’s the important part: seeing them push through their adventures. That journey is why I love fantasy so much and why I believe that fantasy is — or can be — a literature of hope and empowerment.)

  There are some key differences, though.

  When you write for kids or teens, you’re often writing about firsts: first adventure, first friendship, first love, first taste of independence, first time saving the world.

  When you write for adults, you’re deliberately NOT writing about firsts — it’s not the first love or first loss, and more importantly, it’s not the first for the reader either, which means you can play with reader expectations, fulfilling them or subverting them or both at once. You can build on a shared literary history. I don’t have to tell you what nature spirits are; I just have to tell you that mine are bloodthirsty.

  UW: You contributed to the anthology Unfettered II, the short story set in this universe. What else do you have planned in this setting?

  SBD: I feel like this world has so many stories in it, and I can’t wait to tell them! Book two, The Reluctant Queen, comes out in July, and book three, The Queen of Sorrow, will be released ten months after that. I’m so very excited about these books! I’m loving writing them. It’s been one of the best writing experiences of my life, and I am so thrilled and excited to welcome readers to this world!

  UW: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

  SBD: Thanks so much for interviewing me!

Quoted in Sidelights:
From California Bookwatch: A riveting story line with powerful
protagonists promises a blockbuster of a series.
From Publishers Weekly: In addition to a
solid cast of characters and great political intrigue, Durst delivers some fascinating worldbuilding
From Booklist: Durst has fashioned an alluring world of magical
adventure among blood­thirsty spirits and the most deadly of royal politics

Sarah Beth Durst
Born: May 23, 1974 in Northboro, Massachusetts, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: Novelist
Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2015. From Literature Resource Center.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2016 Gale, Cengage Learning
Updated:Nov. 5, 2015

Table of Contents

Listen
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Born May 23, 1974, in Northboro, MA; daughter of Michael P. Angelini (a lawyer); married Adam Durst (a physics professor); children: two. Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1996. Memberships: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Addresses: Homeoffice: Stony Brook, NY. Agent: Literary: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger, Inc., 300 W. 55th St., Ste. 11V, New York, NY 10019; Film: Matthew Snyder, Creative Artists Agency, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067. E-mail: sarah@sarahbethdurst.com.

CAREER:
Author. Also works as a marketing director.

AWARDS:
E.B. White Read Aloud Award nomination, and Andre Norton Award finalist, and Cybils Fantasy and Science Fiction Award finalist, all 2007, all for Into the Wild; Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for children's literature, 2013, for Vessel.

WORKS:

WRITINGS:

JUVENILE FICTION; EXCEPT AS NOTED

Into the Wild, Razorbill (New York, NY), 2007.
Out of the Wild, Razorbill (New York, NY), 2008.
Ice, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2008.
Enchanted Ivy, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2010.
Drink, Slay, Love, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2011.
Vessel, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2012.
Conjured, Walker Books (New York, NY), 2013.
Chasing Power, Bloomsbury (New York, NY), 2014.
The Lost (adult fantasy novel), Harlequin (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2014.
The Girl Who Could Not Dream, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2015.
Also author of the Sarah Beth Durst Blog.

Sidelights

Young-adult fantasy author Sarah Beth Durst has been practicing the craft of writing since she was very young. As Durst confessed in a Look Books website interview: "I have always, always loved books. Some of my earliest and best memories are of visiting the library with my mom and my brother and coming home with an enormous tower of books. I've always thought of books as magic. Whole worlds contained inside a little rectangular object! For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be part of that magic--to be a writer. I've never wanted to be anything else."

It was Durst's father who helped her cement her future vocation. She told Pamela H. Sacks in the Worcester, Massachusetts, Telegram & Gazette: "When I was ten, I was kind of an anxious kid. I was concerned I didn't have a career path. I went to my dad. He said, 'You could be a writer or an artist.' Until then, I didn't realize a real person could become a writer. I totally latched on to the idea, and that's all I've wanted to do since."

Durst attended Princeton University and studied English and theater. While at Princeton, she worked on plays with fantasy themes. After graduation, she moved to England for a year. When she returned to the United States, she got married and began seriously pursuing publication.

Durst's favorite part of the writing process is revision. She told an interviewer on the Totally YA website: "I find first drafts to be very, very painful because they can never be as good as what you picture in your head. After the first draft, subsequent drafts are much better because the story feels like it's improving, but that first draft. ... I try to slog through it as quickly as possible, which leads to scenes with phrases like 'and then something cool happens.' After I'm done with the first draft, then the real writing can begin."

It is during the revision process, Durst believes, that a novel comes to life. She explained in a Miss Erin website interview: "I kind of build a novel from the inside out." The author remarked that she begins with a very rough first draft: "Basically just a skeleton, so that I can see if all the bones fit together. If I like the shape of it, I add the muscles, then ligaments, and then the internal organs. 6,523 drafts later (give or take a few), I add the skin, hair, and other flourishes. By the time I'm done, you can't see any of the words that went into that original skeleton, but it's all there deep inside."

Durst's first book, Into the Wild, incorporates locales from her hometown of Northboro, Massachusetts, albeit with a fanciful twist. In a Slayground website interview, she noted that the book "began as two separate ideas: (1) if Rapunzel lived in my hometown, she'd own a hair salon. (2) What if a girl had a monster under her bed and her mother knew about it? Once I decided that the girl's mother was Rapunzel and the monster was the essence of fairy tales, Into the Wild was born."

Into the Wild centers on twelve-year-old Julie, who is Rapunzel's daughter. Both of them live normal lives--Rapunzel works as a hairdresser, for instance--but they have to protect "the Wild," the essence of their enchanted forest, which is kept hidden under their bed. After the Wild escapes and imprisons fairy-tale characters and townspeople alike, Julie must find a way to restore order. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews praised the novel, calling it "deeper than most rewritten fairy tales." Booklist reviewer Krista Hutley applauded the book's style and sense of humor, commenting that the tale "is peppered with sly allusions." Charles de Lint, writing in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, also felt the novel was well written, adding that "the fun of Into the Wild is in recognizing the iconic figures from fairy tales and seeing them in this new light that Durst has provided for us."

Out of the Wild continues the adventures of Julie and the fairy-tale world. When Julie's father, the prince who saved Rapunzel, magically emerges from the Wild, he finds it difficult to adjust to life in contemporary times and dashes off to save a kidnapped princess. The Wild then begins to grow uncontrollably, jeopardizing the existence of the entire nation.

"Durst's second novel is as inventive as the first book, upping the stakes, but not to preposterous heights," de Lint observed in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and a critic in Kirkus Reviews noted that the author's "puzzle-like yarn seamlessly spans time and space, reality and fantasy."

Durst takes the Norwegian fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" as inspiration for her third novel, Ice. The original tale features a polar bear prince and a girl who follows the prince, who was enchanted by trolls, to a land east of the sun and west of the moon to save him. Durst's novel tells a contemporary story of a "courageous but reckless teen heroine [in] the Arctic wilderness," according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor. The teen, Cassie, is the daughter of a research scientist in the Arctic. Fascinated by a huge polar bear, and believing that its presence may mean that her mother is not dead as she has thought, Cassie follows the animal, who suddenly sweeps her away to make her his wife. The bear, a shape-shifter prince, becomes imprisoned by the trolls in a castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and Cassie makes a desperate bid to free him, battling and at times aided by spirits of the Inuits that abide in the Arctic.

The Kirkus Reviews writer felt that Ice "unites tropes of fantasy, science fiction and adventure" in a work that at times does "strain credulity." A Publishers Weekly reviewer had a higher assessment of the work, noting that Durst "skillfully integrates" this modern story into the original fairy tale. The reviewer further observed that Cassie's "quest for self-worth, independence, maturity and love, is twisty, absorbing and satisfying." Similarly, Booklist contributor Melanie Koss called Ice a "page-turner that readers who enjoy adventure mixed with fairy-tale romance will find hard to put down." School Library Journal reviewer Sue Giffard noted: "Durst flawlessly weaves together romance, adventure, and a modern sensibility to create a highly inventive and suspenseful story of a girl on the cusp of adulthood."

Durst takes her magical formula to the Ivy League in Enchanted Ivy. This is the tale of sixteen-year-old Lily Carter, whose dream is to one day enter Princeton University. Lily's grandfather graduated from the school, and now she may be admitted as a legacy. However, she must first pass the Legacy Test, which entails finding the Ivy Key. This in turn opens up an alternate Princeton in a parallel world. Here magical creatures roam and relationships between the two worlds are strained at best. Lily's quest ultimately reveals family secrets to her, including the death of her father and her mentally unhinged mother. In the process, Lily also learns basic truths about herself and her inner strengths.

A Publishers Weekly writer found this a "bit of nostalgic whimsy," but other reviewers had a higher assessment. School Library Journal reviewer Christi Esterle, for example, commented: "Lily deals with the peculiarity of her situation in a believable manner, and her two potential love interests ... are charming." A Kirkus Reviews contributor added praise, noting that "Durst deftly layers in mythologies" in this "refreshing entry in the urban-fantasy field and ... solid adventure tale."

Pearl is a teen vampire in Durst's Drink, Slay, Love. She is in training to become a full-fledged vampire and avoids the sunlight at all costs. But one night, after eating blood-flavored ice-cream, something quite magical happens: a unicorn appears and stabs her with his horn. Recovering from this assault, Pearl now discovers that she can tolerate sunlight. Her family is excited about this change of events, for now they can send Pearl to high school, where she can trick students into becoming nibbles for the vampire king. But after some time at the high school, Pearl finds that she is becoming less of a vampire and more concerned for her new friends, a situation that forces her ultimately to choose between her vampire life and family and her new human life at school.

Horn Book contributor Lauren Adams felt that Pearl is "a lively antihero who is forced to choose sides in the ultimate showdown, revealing her true loyalties." Booklist writer Cindy Welch also focused on the protagonist of this work, noting that Durst transforms Pearl in "believable steps from an arrogant, soulless hunter to a compassionate teen concerned about her friends." Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Sherrie Williams also had a positive evaluation of this novel, writing: "This book will likely appeal to young horror fans who enjoy a snarkier, smarter, distinctly less sparkly brand of vampires." Similarly, a Publishers Weekly contributor found this a "fresh, modern, and humorous twist on the vampire novel," with "lively characters and a sweet romance," while a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded: "Even jaded fans of the supernatural will find fun in this one."

Vessel is a "powerful and melancholy fantasy," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Here, the desert is the backdrop for a tale of youthful "vessels," or humans whose minds will die so that their bodies can be inhabited by gods and goddesses. Liyana is one of these vessels, but even though she performs the welcoming ceremony perfectly, her intended goddess does not come to her. As a result, Liyana's clan abandons her to the desert. Alone and not knowing where to turn, Liyana is confronted with a magical-looking youth, Korbyn, who explains to her that he is the manifestation of a god, and that he and several others of his kind have been prevented from finding their rightful vessels. Korbyn asks her to join his search for the missing vessels, and although this will ultimately mean her demise, Liyana is loyal to her calling.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor had high praise for this offering, noting: "From the gripping first line, a fast-paced, thought-provoking and stirring story of sacrifice." Similarly, Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Laura Perenic called Vessel a "fast-paced, thrilling adventure set in a hostile world filled with complex clan feuds and strong traditions." Online Book Smugglers reviewer Ana On also had a high assessment of Vessel, terming it an "absolutely brilliant book." On added: "It reads a lot like an old-fashioned adventure fantasy and it features a very thought-provoking premise."

Paranormal fantasy is at the heart of Durst's 2013 young-adult novel, Conjured. Eve is a teen with no memory. She has had several rounds of plastic surgery to change her face, and she knows only that she is in a witness protection program after witnessing a magical serial killer who has been targeting teens with special powers. She does not remember, however, if she is merely a witness or an accomplice to the killer. Eve's protectors want to dig into her memory, and she begins to distrust them. She has horrifying flashbacks, and at night she dreams of a carnival tent and buttons being sewn into her skin. Attempting to find some normalcy, she volunteers at a local library to shelve books. There she meets a friendly youth named Zach, but still visions haunt her. She also discovers magical powers, such as being able to change the color of her eyes and walk through walls. However, after using these powers, she blacks out for days, having no memory of where she has been or what she has done. Kissing Zach one day, she discovers that he can use her powers without harm to himself. Then her protectors in the witness program introduce her to a group of other teens, each of whom has strange powers and apparently evil intentions. Soon she must choose between the human and lovable Zach and one of these teens, Aidan, who has the power to teleport. Which can help her find out who she really is and why she lost her memory?

Reviewing Conjured for Tor.com, Michael M. Jones remarked: "Durst delivers a brilliant, gorgeously-written, intricately-plotted tale of magic and mystery. Romance and intrigue intertwine, laced together with elegant words and memorable characters." A Book Smugglers website contributor also offered praise for the novel, noting that it is a "beautifully constructed novel that goes from utterly disorienting to exceptionally horrific as its story progresses." Voice of Youth Advocates writer Lisa Martincik called it a "quirky fantasy" and noted that "Durst's clear writing brings robust life to the creepy past and confusing present." Horn Book critic Deirdre F. Baker labeled Conjured an "unusual blend of magical worlds, psychological thriller, and teen romance" that offers "tight suspense and satisfying mystification ... to the last pages." A Kirkus Reviews critic also had a high assessment of the novel, concluding: "Patient readers will respond to this slow thriller about a girl with memory loss and magical powers, and a murderer on the loose."

Sixteen-year-old Kayla was born with the power of telekinesis, or the ability to move things with her mind. She has put this power to criminal use, becoming an adept shoplifter with the power to move buttons on cash registers. Kayla has saved up enough money so that she and her mother will be able to create a new life if her crazy and murderous father ever finds them again. Then, when she is caught stealing from a boy named Daniel, Kayla's life is turned upside down. Daniel also has special powers--the ability to teleport--and he is in need of help. He blackmails Kayla to get her assistance in the rescue of his mother, who has been kidnapped. In order to do so, the two teens need to find an ancient incantation written on stones thousands of years ago. What Kayla does not realize is that this quest will draw her back to her own family and to secrets that will change her life. "The thing that made the book so much fun to write is that Kayla is clever," Durst told YA Interrobang website contributor Nicole Brinkley. "She figures out how to use her limited power for maximum effect. In other words, her power might be limited, but her imagination isn't."

Reviewing Chasing Power in Children's Book Review, Denise Mealy noted: "This fast-paced novel has readers skipping across Mayan temples and ancient churches following a lovable and feisty heroine." Other reviewers also had praise for this novel. A Publishers Weekly critic called it "fun adventure with a superpowered twist," while Booklist writer Diane Colson thought that "fans of Durst's earlier works will find plenty to like about Kayla and her paranormal adventure." Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews contributor termed it a "quick but complex read--enjoyable on both counts."

Durst's first novel for adults, The Lost, finds twenty-seven-year-old Lauren Chase driving into a small town after being caught in a dust storm. The town is ominously called Lost. It is situated on the edge of the desert and appears to be filled with broken and abandoned articles. When Lauren attempts to leave, impassable dust storms send her back to the town. This happens over and over until finally the denizens of Lost tell her that in order to leave, she will need to understand what she herself has lost. At that point, the Missing Man can send her home. The problem is, Lauren has no idea of what she is looking for and must now somehow survive in Lost while she searches for the unknown.

Booklist reviewer Patricia Smith had praise for The Lost, calling it a "highly imaginative and jarring adult debut ... [that] pushes readers out of their comfort zones," and a Kirkus Reviews critic noted: "This exuberant fantasy is finely crafted, filled with humor and very moving." A Publishers Weekly contributor termed the novel "both charming and painfully emotional at times."

FURTHER READINGS:

FURTHER READINGS ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2007, Krista Hutley, review of Into the Wild, p. 57; September 1, 2009, Melanie Koss, review of Ice, p. 82; September 15, 2011, Cindy Welch, review of Drink, Slay, Love, p. 73; May 15, 2014, Patricia Smith, review of The Lost, p. 26; November 15, 2014, Diane Colson, review of Chasing Power, p. 45.
Boston Globe, July 26, 2007, Denise Taylor, "Area Landmarks Take on Magical Glow in Fantasy Novel."
Horn Book, January-February, 2012, Lauren Adams, review of Drink, Slay, Love, p. 87; September-October, 2013, Deirdre F. Baker, review of Conjured, p. 92.
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2007, review of Into the Wild; June 1, 2008, review of Out of the Wild; September 15, 2009, review of Ice; September 15, 2010, review of Enchanted Ivy; July 1, 2011, review of Drink, Slay, Love; July 15, 2012, review of Vessel; July 1, 2013, review of Conjured; April 15, 2014, review of The Lost; September 1, 2014, review of Chasing Power.
Kliatt, July, 2007, Janis Flint-Ferguson, review of Into the Wild, p. 12.
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July, 2007, Charles de Lint, review of Into the Wild, p. 30; June, 2008, Charles de Lint, review of Out of the Wild, p. 27.
Publishers Weekly, October 19, 2009, review of Ice, p. 55; October 4, 2010, review of Enchanted Ivy, p. 49; August 8, 2011, review of Drink, Slay, Love, p. 50; August 6, 2012, review of Vessel, p. 57; April 7, 2014, review of The Lost, p. 48; August 11, 2014, review of Chasing Power, p. 70.
School Library Journal, September, 2007, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Into the Wild, p. 195; September, 2008, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Out of the Wild, p. 178; December, 2009, Sue Giffard, review of Ice, p. 114; December, 2010, Christi Esterle, review of Enchanted Ivy, p. 112; October, 2011, Angela J Reynolds, review of Drink, Slay, Love, p. 132; > October, 2013, Sunnie Lovelace, review of Conjured, p. 120; July, 2014, Lynn Rashid, review of Chasing Power, p. 100.
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), July 10, 2007, Pamela H. Sacks, "A Magical Story," p. E1; June 17, 2008, Pamela H. Sacks, "Wild Success Prompts a Sequel."
Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2012, Sherrie Williams, review of Drink, Slay, Love, p. 400; August, 2012, Laura Perenic, review of Vessel, p. 277; October, 2013, Lisa Martincik, review of Conjured, p. 79.
ONLINE

Bloody Bookaholic, http://bloodybookaholic.blogspot.com/ (September 20, 2012), review of Vessel.
Book Smugglers http://thebooksmugglers.com/ (September 21, 2012), Ana On, review of Vessel; (September 1, 2013), review of Conjured; (June 1, 2014), review of The Lost.
Children's Book Review, http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/ (October 15, 2014), Denise Mealy, review of Chasing Power.
Class of 2k7 Website, http://www.classof2k7.com/ (March 1, 2008), interview with Durst.
GoodReads, http://www.goodreads.com/ (September 21, 2012), "Sarah Beth Durst."
Look Books, http://lookbooks.wordpress.com/ (January 31, 2008), "Sarah Beth Durst Interview."
Miss Erin, http://misserinmarie.blogspot.com/ (May 12, 2007), interview with Durst.
Nebula Awards Website, http://www.nebulaawards.com/ (July 28, 2008), Jen West, interview with Durst.
Oklahoman, http://newsok.com/ (July 20, 2014), Glen Seeber, review of The Lost.
St. Helen's Book Shop, http://www.sthelensbookshop.com/ (September 21, 2012), K. Bird Lincoln, review of Enchanted Ivy.
Sarah Beth Durst Home Page, http://www.sarahbethdurst.com (March 19, 2015).
Sci Fi Wire Website, http://www.scifi.com/ (July 27, 2007), John Joseph Adams, "Wild Unleashes Fairy-Tale Denizens."
Slayground, http://slayground.livejournal.com/ (June 12, 2007), interview with Durst.
Tor.com, http://www.tor.com/ (September 18, 2013), Michael M. Jones, review of Conjured.
Totally YA, http://fictionforyoungadults.blogspot.com/ (December 3, 2007), "Sarah Beth Durst--Author of Into the Wild and Out of the Wild."
YA Interrobang, http://www.yainterrobang.com/ (October 12, 2014), Nicole Brinkley, "Fantasy Worlds & Clever Girls: Author Sarah Beth Durst."
Young Adult (& Kids) Books Central, http://www.yabookscentral.com/ (July 1, 2007), interview with Durst.*

Durst, Sarah Beth: JOURNEY ACROSS THE
HIDDEN ISLANDS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Durst, Sarah Beth JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS Clarion (Children's Fiction) $16.99 4, 4 ISBN: 978­
0­544­70679­8
Two princesses conquer self­doubt and learn to trust in each other in order to save their people and the only way of life
they know. Princesses Seika and Ji­Lin, twin daughters of Emperor Yu­Senbi of Himitsu, have been best friends since
birth. However, when they turn 11, first­born Seika remains at the palace to be groomed as heir apparent, and Ji­Lin is
sent to the Temple of the Sun to train to become an imperial guard and her sister's protector. While Jin­Li learns to
wield a sword and mount her winged­lion companion, Seika is taught how to follow rituals. Much to their surprise,
Seika and Ji­Lin are sent on the Emperor's Journey on their 12th birthday. Per tradition, the Emperor's heir from every
generation journeys to the volcanic island of Kazan to renew the bargain with the dragon of Himitsu, who maintains the
magical barrier protecting the Hundred Islands of Himitsu. Seika and Ji­Lin soon realize the barrier is failing. When
they finally reach their destination and learn tradition has been upended, Seika and Ji­Lin must trust their gut instincts
and define for themselves what it means to be a hero. Durst's attempts to create an Asian­inflected fantasy world are a
little contrived, but her imaginative, fast­paced adventure story will keep readers turning the pages. An enjoyable
coming­of­age fantasy­adventure that also showcases the deep bond between sisters. (Fantasy. 10­14)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Durst, Sarah Beth: JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2017. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479234494&it=r&asid=a9cef8abf7c2f724e19f1ff31f1df610.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A479234494
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 2/10
The Queen of Blood
California Bookwatch.
(Jan. 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
The Queen of Blood
Sarah Beth Durst
HarperVoyageur
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022­5299
9780062413345, $19.99, www.harpercollins.com
The Queen of Blood presents Book 1 of 'The Queens of Renthia' series, and tells of an idealistic young student and a
banished warrior who become allies as they struggle to change their world. This opener to a series is especially strong
in political intrigue, adding elements of horror into its fantasy as its protagonists vie for control against a crumbling
kingdom held together by one woman, the queen, whose magical powers mean the difference between the world's
survival and its end. Because it's never good to have all of one's basket, young women are being trained to take her
place­­but will any of them be able to claim the throne, much less hold it? A riveting story line with powerful
protagonists promises a blockbuster of a series.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"The Queen of Blood." California Bookwatch, Jan. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479406263&it=r&asid=7c590862e8f21fd77598fb01e8352f57.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A479406263
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 3/10
Queen of Blood
Lucy Lockley
Booklist.
113.2 (Sept. 15, 2016): p33.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Queen of Blood. By Sarah Beth Durst. Sept. 2016.368p. HarperCollins/Voyager, $19.99 (97800624133451.
Spirits inhabit everything­­earth, air, fire, ice, water, trees­­and all they want to do is kill. Peace is maintained through
the power of the queen, assisted by her champions and their trainees, the Heirs. When her village is attacked, 10­yearold
Daleina displays an affinity for commanding spirits. Although her control is weak, she resolves to train to become
an Heir. Champion Ven, a former favorite of Queen Fara who is currently in exile, arrives too late to stop the assault
and knows something is very wrong. The queen's duty is to protect her people, and Ven suspects Fara is losing control
of the spirits. Many years will pass and much more blood be spilled before Daleina and Ven figure out what is
happening, and stopping it may cost them dearly. The award­winning Durst has fashioned an alluring world of magical
adventure among blood­thirsty spirits and the most deadly of royal politics, the kind based on self­delusion and fueled
by fear. Book one of the Queens of Renthia will appeal to fans of epic fantasy. ­­Lucy Lockley
YA: Teens will enjoy Daleina's training and trials as she struggles to learn how to best use her power over the
dangerous spirits that threaten her world. LL.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Lockley, Lucy. "Queen of Blood." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2016, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464980864&it=r&asid=7eb9de5f8d95d08301211df4bcb6d496.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A464980864
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 4/10
The Queen of Blood
Publishers Weekly.
263.30 (July 25, 2016): p51.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Queen of Blood
Sarah Beth Durst. Voyager, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978­0­06­241334­5
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Mythopoeic Award­winner Durst (Chasing Power) launches her Queens of Renthia series with a stellar and imaginative
tale. In the fantasy world of Renthia, spirits­­tangible magical beings associated with the four elements­­would destroy
all humans if it weren't for the queen, a powerful chosen ruler who can control them. When a group of spirits destroys
an outlying village, young Daleina chases them off and discovers that she has the power to potentially be a queen one
day. After training for years at the academy, she comes under the tutelage of Ven, a disgraced champion (and former
lover) of the current queen, Fara, and they work to make Daleina stronger as it becomes more apparent that Fara might
be losing control of the spirits. Durst ably dispenses with tropes of the genre, zooming through the standard "young
magician at the academy" plot to focus on Daleina's growth as both a person and a potential queen. In addition to a
solid cast of characters and great political intrigue, Durst delivers some fascinating worldbuilding, and the spirits are
malevolent, cunning, wild, and mysterious antagonists. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"The Queen of Blood." Publishers Weekly, 25 July 2016, p. 51. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460285486&it=r&asid=f87ba93d858265a93e6d98156f948f84.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460285486
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 5/10
The Girl Who Could Not Dream
Suanne Roush
Booklist.
112.5 (Nov. 1, 2015): p60.
COPYRIGHT 2015 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The Girl Who Could Not Dream. By Sarah Beth Durst. Nov. 2015. 384p. Clarion, $16.99 (9780544464971). Gr. 4­7.
It's ironic that Sophie can't dream, since her parents run a dream shop in the basement of their bookstore. There they
keep shining bottles of dreams collected by dream catchers, some given to their customers as gifts and others given by
Sophie to her classmates who suffer from nightmares. One day, desperate to experience a dream, Sophie drinks down
the contents of one of the bottles, and when she wakes the next day, she discovers that she's brought a creature from her
dream, named Monster, to life. Monster vows to keep her­­and the secret of her newfound skill­­safe, which comes in
handy when Mr. Nightmare catches wind of Sophie's abilities and kidnaps her parents. Along with Monster, a glittery
Pegasus, some rainbow­colored rabbits, and her friend Ethan, Sophie must save her town and her parents from
monsters brought to life. With lighthearted humor, gentle spooks, and more than a couple nods to the classics, this
adventurous fantasy will likely appeal to fans of Jessica Day George's Castle Glower series.­­Suanne Roush
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Roush, Suanne. "The Girl Who Could Not Dream." Booklist, 1 Nov. 2015, p. 60. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA434514530&it=r&asid=835115fe2c965b3052c749941f39c792.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A434514530
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 6/10
The Girl Who Could Not Dream
Sarah Berman
The Horn Book Magazine.
91.6 (November­December 2015): p79.
COPYRIGHT 2015 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
Full Text:
The Girl Who Could Not Dream
by Sarah Beth Durst
Intermediate Houghton 380 pp.
11/15 978­0­544­46497­1 $16.99 g
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Sophie cant dream, so she's never experienced the sort of nightmares that plague her classmates Ethan and Madison.
Her parents run a secret shop beneath their cozy bookstore, selling dreams of every sort. One night she steals one and
discovers that she has the dangerous power to bring dream­creatures into the waking world. When the mysterious Mr.
Nightmare kidnaps her parents and two kids from town­­children whose bad dreams Sophie has been collecting for
resale­­it's up to Sophie, Ethan, and a few fantastical friends to find them without alerting the sinister Nightwatch
agency to their secret. The human characters in this nicely compact domestic fantasy have to use their own cunning and
bravery to stop the villains from doing great evil with the very dreams Sophie wishes she could experience. Her dreamfriends
Monster and the delightfully arrogant unicorn Glitterhoof keep the story merry with their precocious quips, but
the adventure does take some turns through dark and perilous territory. While working with Ethan, and trying to rescue
mean­queen Madison, Sophie comes to realize that everyone, asleep or awake, has his or her own troubles to combat.
Most of the books are recommended; all of them are subject to the qualifications in the reviews. g indicates that the
book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a
possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. * indicates a
book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or
of the author's body of work. For a complete key to the review abbreviations as well as for bios of our reviewers, please
visit hbook.com/horn­book­magazine.
Berman, Sarah
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Berman, Sarah. "The Girl Who Could Not Dream." The Horn Book Magazine, Nov.­Dec. 2015, p. 79+. General
OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA434223779&it=r&asid=e5b73d1a15475e65791e0f7173833d8d.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
2/12/2017 General OneFile ­ Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486943139249 7/10
Gale Document Number: GALE|A434223779

"Sarah Beth Durst." Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2015. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CH1000189672&it=r&asid=f0fa3d64458b0cb9528e62bae9d2c72b. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. "Durst, Sarah Beth: JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479234494&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. "The Queen of Blood." California Bookwatch, Jan. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479406263&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Lockley, Lucy. "Queen of Blood." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2016, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464980864&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. "The Queen of Blood." Publishers Weekly, 25 July 2016, p. 51. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460285486&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Roush, Suanne. "The Girl Who Could Not Dream." Booklist, 1 Nov. 2015, p. 60. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA434514530&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Berman, Sarah. "The Girl Who Could Not Dream." The Horn Book Magazine, Nov.­Dec. 2015, p. 79+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA434223779&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. "The Girl Who Could Not Dream." Publishers Weekly, 21 Sept. 2015, p. 74. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA429736717&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. "Durst, Sarah Beth: THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2015. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA423540739&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Kron, Tara. "Durst, Sarah Beth. The Girl Who Could Not Dream." School Library Journal, July 2015, p. 76. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA420435539&it=r. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.

• Thought Spot
  https://hugsandkissesforbooks.com/2017/01/14/journey-across-the-hidden-islands-by-sarah-beth-durst/
  Word count: 227

  Journey Across the Hidden Islands by Sarah Beth Durst
  Posted on January 14, 2017 by lynndellwatson
  51snjkgd3pl-_sy344_bo1204203200_

  Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
  Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for the opportunity to read and review Journey Across the Hidden Islands by Sarah Beth Durst! Ji-Lin and Seika are sisters and best friends. Their father is the Emperor and both daughters have been sent on their own Emperor’s Journey. Seika is all about tradition, whereas Ji-Lin struggles with focus. The two sisters are sent on their journeys together. Seika is following the traditional journey that takes place every generation, to speak with the dragon and renew their bargain of protection. Ji-Lin will be Seika’s protector and they will be riding on the winged lion, Alejan, Ji-Lin’s companion. They will travel for five days to converse with the dragon and then the following morning they will meet the Emperor and Guardians to celebrate the end of the ritual. The author describes the scenery and creatures beautifully by painting pictures with her descriptive words and the mythological tales are entertaining and interesting. The sisters work through their insecurities together and come to relate to each other better as they discover the truth behind the ritual. This adventure fantasy is wonderful for tweens – 4 stars!

• Smart Bitches Trashy Books
  http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/queen-blood-sarah-beth-durst/
  Word count: 1227

  Quoted in Sidelights: The Queen of Blood is a fantasy book that is written so beautifully and so naturally that it feels completely matter-of-fact. There’s nothing pretentious or mannered about this book, which makes its depictions of magical spirits all the more powerful.

  The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
  by Carrie S · Nov 9, 2016 at 4:00 am · View all 10 comments

  The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
  SBTB Media Page
  The Queen of Blood
  by Sarah Beth Durst
  SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 · HARPER VOYAGER

  Order →
  A
  GENRE: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult

  The Queen of Blood is a fantasy book that is written so beautifully and so naturally that it feels completely matter-of-fact. There’s nothing pretentious or mannered about this book, which makes its depictions of magical spirits all the more powerful.

  The Queen of Blood involves a world in which nature is full of spirits that long to kill and destroy. The relationship between people and spirits is summed up in a child’s jump rope chant:

  Don’t trust the fire, for it will burn you.

  Don’t trust the ice, for it will freeze you.

  Don’t trust the water, for it will drown you.

  Don’t trust the air, for it will choke you.

  Don’t trust the earth, for it will bury you.

  Don’t trust the trees, for they will rip you,

  Rend you, tear you, kill you dead.

  So basically it’s not so much that people live in harmony with the earth as that they live in a terrifyingly fragile — and often violently broken — truce, one which they maintain with charms and with the aid of people who can fight the spirits either in combat or by mentally controlling them.

  The Queen of Renthia is a human who can control the spirits and keep them in check. Girls who show an ability to control spirits are taken to a school where they practice their powers, hoping to be chosen to be queen one day (runners up are heirs, and play various roles in protecting the people). One of these girls is Daleina, who saves her family from an attack of wood spirits when she is still quite young.

  Readers who love magical schools will love the academy where Daleina spends most of her childhood. The girls at the academy bond together, and the emphasis on friendship as opposed to rivalry is refreshing. Daleina’s roommate is a prickly, ambitious young woman who only Daleina appreciates, and Daleina finds herself with a pet wolf because the book is just that nifty.

  Daleina has enough power to get into the school, but one thing I like about her is that she’s not a Chosen One. There are no prophecies about her, she doesn’t have masses of good-looking people talking about how irresistible she is, and she doesn’t show any special magical ability. She’s smart, but not brilliant in an academic sense. What Daleina is good at is seeing the big picture. If this book were Game of Thrones (which it isn’t, despite some graphic spirit vs. human violence) Daleina would be the character pointing out nonstop that winter is coming.

  Daleina is not strong enough to control spirits by brute force, so instead she coaxes or commands them to do what they want to do, but in a way that benefits her. For example, most of her peers would tell a group of marauding wood spirits to stop killing and go away. If the human making the command is powerful enough, this works. Daleina isn’t that powerful, so she tells the spirits to build. This distracts them from destroying a village and redirects their attention to something else that they enjoy – making elaborate structures out or trees and plant life.

  Daleina is also good at thinking about combat creatively. During major battles, she uses air spirits to fly above the scene so that she can see what’s happening and yell directions to the more conventionally powered students so that they can work as an effective team. She acknowledges her lack of power, but compensates with strategic and tactical thinking.

  This book has a romance, but the romance is very understated. The students are eventually placed with Champions, seasoned adult warriors who teach them survival skills. Daleina trains with Ven, the Queen’s ex-lover, who is in disgrace for challenging the Queen’s decisions. Ven and Daleina are accompanied by a healer, Hamon, who falls in love with Daleina. While Hamon seems deeply devoted to Daleina, her feelings seem a bit more complicated – she clearly does have romantic feelings towards him, but she’s also got a shit ton of other things going on in her life. Their romance is not a driving force in the story although it has an enormous amount of potential. Incidentally, Hamon is described as having very dark skin, which is a nice change in a genre that is often populated entirely by white characters.

  There’s plenty of plot in The Queen of Blood, but much of the book involves studying, and training, and seeing how relationships are broken and built or rebuilt or lost in a life made up of risk, transition, and devotion to a single goal. The book shines because of the matter-of-fact writing style, which is lyrical but dodges many of the clichés of high fantasy.

  It also stands out because of instead of being the Chosen One, or having a magical artifact (the wolf is helpful, but not that helpful), or being desired by one and all, Daleina really is a fairly underpowered individual who gets by because she never forgets that her purpose, and the purpose of all the heirs and the Queens, is or ought to be to protect people. She can fight, but she’s not a great warrior. She can control spirits up to a point, but she’s not incredibly high-powered. Her lack of awesomeness at one particular thing is what makes her so very good at strategic thinking – manipulating spirits instead of simply ordering them to do things, and directing battles instead of being a big player within them, with an eye on the importance of protecting people as opposed to furthering her own ambition.

  The Queen of Blood, which is the first book in a trilogy, does not end on a cliffhanger, but it will leave the reader eager for the sequel. Book Two is slated for a February 2017 release. Although much of the book involves the main character’s life as a teen and a young woman, it seems to be marketed more for adults than as YA. While it doesn’t have much romance (nor is it marketed as a romance) I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy. It’s a beautiful and at times harrowing book that is overwhelmingly about the lives of women and their relationships to each other. Best of all, it preserves the beauty and terror of fantasy while avoiding many of fantasy’s clichés.

• Tor.com
  http://www.tor.com/2016/10/12/book-reviews-the-queen-of-blood-by-sarah-beth-durst/
  Word count: 989

  Quoted in Sidelights: Like any good heroine, she’s not perfect. In fact, she’s not even good at magic itself, just strategy and leadership, stubbornness and wilderness skills. Her classmates, in another story, might belittle or bully her for this, but the female friendships in Queen of Blood are its greatest gift to its readers.
  And: of a natural world beset by cruelty, is strong, and it’s made stronger by its sweeping, gorgeous settings.

  Nature Bites Back: The Queen of Blood, by Sarah Beth Durst

  Emily Nordling
  Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:00pm Post a comment Favorite This

  Autumn only ever helps me forget the death of the earth. As green withers to brown and wind sharpens into something like winter, it’s easy to think of the dying earth as an annual ritual rather than a looming (and more permanent) scientific reality. And where the turn in scifi towards eco-futurism, solarpunk, and dystopian climate disasters is a constant reminder of humanity’s relationship to that countdown, I tend to consider the high fantasy genre to hold a more romantic perspective, one that invokes the cyclical nature of the seasons. Whether it’s magic growing out of humanity’s connection to earth, or an abomination against it, the genre so often yearns for equilibrium and for a pre-modern relationship to nature.

  It’s not an overarching theme, of course, but often the secondary worlds that break that mold are doing it so deliberately that we can’t help but sit up and take notice. Last year, one of those novels was Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. This fall, while trees are dying and the air is quickening, the exception to watch for is The Queen of Blood, by Sarah Beth Durst. Nature in this world is anything but benevolent. The bond it has formed with humanity is anything but equal. Nature, in Renthia, is honestly a bit terrifying.

  In Renthia, the queen maintains a tenuous peace between her subjects and the nature spirits that share their land. These spirits—fire, ice, water, air, earth, and tree—create and destroy. Without them, there would be no Renthia to speak of, and yet without the queen, the spirits wreak havoc on human communities, destroying homes and devouring their inhabitants without mercy. And so young girls aspire to be her, train as her heirs and as her champions, so that they can someday protect Renthia by controlling its spirits. Queen of Blood’s protagonist is, in this way, like any other Renthian girl with a knack for magic. What makes Daleina different is that she knows the cost of that magic’s failure. When she was ten years old, Daleina was helpless to protect her village when the spirits laid it to waste. She spends the rest of her life striving to never feel that helpless again.

  Meanwhile Ven, a disgraced former champion to Queen Fara, is on the move to save villages like Daleina’s. The spirits are attacking more frequently and more violently. It’s almost like the Queen has lost control of them. However Ven had a—shall we say—intimate relationship with Fara, and refuses to believe it. Even though he’s disgraced, he does everything he can to protect Renthia and its queen, even if that means betraying them in the process.

  The bulk of Queen of Blood follows Daleina’s training—from her time as a student at a prestigious magic school, to her fated meeting with Ven. Like any good heroine, she’s not perfect. In fact, she’s not even good at magic itself, just strategy and leadership, stubbornness and wilderness skills. Her classmates, in another story, might belittle or bully her for this, but the female friendships in Queen of Blood are its greatest gift to its readers. Even Merecot, set up as the Queen-Bee-Head-Cheerleader-type, has a nuanced relationship with Daleina, one of mutual respect and teasing (or flirting, if you’re a wishful thinker). These relationships, as well as those between Daleina and her family, and between Ven and Fara, drive this novel perhaps even more than its initial concept.

  Its initial concept, though, of a natural world beset by cruelty, is strong, and it’s made stronger by its sweeping, gorgeous settings. Renthia is, after all, a kingdom based in the trees, connected by bridges and ropes and buildings that soar into the heights of the forests’ canopies. And so when the nature spirits rebel, humanity feels it all the more acutely; when humanity falls—whether literally or metaphorically—they have a long path to the ground. More than anything, I look forward to Queen of Blood’s sequel as a map of that fall. The nature of the original pact between humans and spirits is unclear in this first novel, and will make or break a great many of the themes it’s laid out.

  The only thing that kept me from loving (rather than liking) this book was the writing itself. Durst has a tendency to dip into showy dialogue—quippy one-liners being the silliest culprit—and transparent descriptions of characters’ thoughts and emotions. These changes in tone, subtlety, and emotional realism seemed at times like shifts between an adult and a young adult novel, or perhaps between a drama and a comedy. But while this nebulous audience shifting took me out of the action more than once, the plot was compelling enough that I never stayed out for long. Daleina’s exploits were far too exciting not to follow, and the danger posed to her and her friends was real and present at every turn. I’m excited for Queen of Blood’s sequel, regardless of its prose. Durst knows how to move her audience and rattle the earth, and that’s all I can really ask for.

• My Friends are Fiction
  http://www.myfriendsarefiction.com/review-of-the-queen-of-blood-by-sarah-beth-durst
  Word count: 892

  REVIEW OF THE QUEEN OF BLOOD BY SARAH BETH DURST
  August 12, 2016 By Kristen 13 Comments

  TheQueenofBloodThe Queen of Blood
  By: Sarah Beth Durst
  Release Date: September 20th 2016
  Publisher: Harper Voyager
  Format: Print ARC
  Source: Publisher

  My Rating:
  star

  Summary:
  An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure

  Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

  But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.

  With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.

  My Thoughts:
  I typically try not to build up what I think a book will be like or elements that might be involved but when I read the back cover of The Queen of Blood I immediately envisioned a romance between this idealistic young student and the banished warrior. I went in wanting the ‘mentor that slowly falls in love with his student’ trope but that wasn’t what happened. I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I went into this shipping the wrong couple and I’ll admit it made me a bit sad. But this was, of course, no fault of the book! These were my expectations that I let go a bit wild. I wanted this book to be something it was not.

  Once I got over my self enforced disappointment I was able to see this book for what it was and enjoy it very much. It is in the adult fantasy genre so there are more detailed descriptions (and that teeny tiny print). The characters are very developed and I really did learn to care for a great many of them. I wanted there to be a lot of romance and there wasn’t- though there was some- just not who I wanted. I’m not sure if it was because of my false idea of who should be together but I never really got behind any of the romantic relationships in this book. That was fine though because they were not a very large part of the story line. This book was about much more than romance- it had betrayal, friendship, the trust of a mentor, cost of power and sacrifice for duty.

  I really appreciate Durst’s writing style- she creates vivid worlds and Renthia was so beautifully rendered. I loved the usage of magic and how spirits drove the forest growth, wind, fire, etc. The idea behind this was so creative and original. I loved that girls trained to be able to control these spirits and there was always the tension that they could lose control allowing the spirits to unleash death and havoc.

  The main character, Daleina, was so easy to relate to and root for. She suffered a horrible event in her youth which shaped her entire future. This girl doesn’t let anything stop her and pushes herself so far. I love that she takes on responsibility and strives to fulfill a duty that she sees herself having. A lot of others would give up under the circumstances Daleina finds herself but she refuses to. She also has some amazing character growth throughout even this first novel in the series so I’m very excited to see what the other books go with her and the other characters.

  The banished warrior type is a trope I just love. The brave, fierce warrior that has fallen out of grace is often the plot line for so many good stories and once again I loved that Durst used this to shape a character, Ven, that was a perfect foil for Daleina. Though there was not a romance between these two they did have wonderful chemistry (and I still ship them!).

  TheQueenofBloodPicFinal Thoughts:
  The Queen of Blood was a beautifully done high fantasy that focused primarily on the main character’s journey to fulfill the duty she feels she had. I loved the character development and world building, though dense at times. I am eager to see where Durst will take the rest of the series.

• Speculative Herald
  http://www.speculativeherald.com/2016/10/20/review-the-queen-of-blood-by-sarah-beth-durst/
  Word count: 1212

  Quoted in Sidelights: things tie up quite nicely but there are also plenty of seeds planted here that will no doubt be explored in the sequel. I for one cannot wait to see what else Sarah Beth Durst has in store for us. For an introduction to a series, The Queen of Blood amazes me with its potential, and I look forward to the next book with great enthusiasm.

  Review: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
  OCTOBER 20, 2016
  Review: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth DurstThe Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
  Series: The Queens of Renthia #1
  Published by Harper Voyager on September 20th 2016
  Genres: Fantasy
  Pages: 353
  Format: Finished hardcover
  Source: Publisher
  Thanks to Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

  LibraryThing button-amazon book-depository-button audible-button

  four-stars
  Color me pleasantly surprised – a book that ostensibly bore many hallmarks of your average possibly-YA-but-maybe-not fantasy novel in fact turned out to be a very refreshing and unique read. I honestly didn’t expect to like this book so much, especially since my feelings for the story fluctuated so wildly for most of the first half. However, all traces of uncertainty were washed away by the time the plot ramped up to its brutal climax and staggering conclusion.

  The Queen of Blood introduces us to the world of Aratay, a place where humans and nature spirits coexist in a state of precarious equilibrium. Spirits see humans as invaders in their domain, and given the opportunity they would gladly see us all dead. But while the spirits are destructive forces, they are also one with the natural world, and without them there would be no rain, no fire, no life.

  So humans have learned to adapt. In Aratay, a Queen holds control over all the spirits in the area and protects her people from harm. To choose a Queen, girls with an affinity to sense and manipulate the spirits are identified and invited to an academy to learn how to use their powers. The most promising students are chosen by champions to be further trained to become potential heirs, so that in the event that the Queen dies there will always be a successor to take her place and keep the spirits in line.

  Sometimes though, there are accidents. The book begins with a spirit attack on a village, which leaves many dead. Our protagonist, a young girl named Daleina, was only able to save herself and her family when her powers manifested during the massacre, and since that day has vowed to do all she can to prevent something like this from ever happening again. That determination ultimately leads her to the academy, where unfortunately, she discovers that her abilities are actually very weak compared to the many more talented girls in her class. But as more and more villages fall prey to spirits each year, it is becoming clear that the current Queen is starting to lose control—or worse, perhaps these attacks like the one on Daleina’s village were not in fact accidents at all. Something very bad is coming to Aratay, but will Daleina and her fellow aspirants be powerful or prepared enough to confront it?

  As I said before, my feelings were all over the place for the first half of this novel. When I first started, my attention was immediately captured by the different feel the gorgeously detailed setting and atmosphere. The people and cultures of Aratay are closely tied to the land, with towns and even whole cities literally built into the canopies of the trees. I also liked the ideas and lore surrounding the large variety of spirits. To be clear, these aren’t your typical chaotic neutral entities that just want to live wild and free to do what nature spirits are wont to do. Instead, they are malevolent and destructive to their core. There’s a song that every child knows growing up:

  Don’t trust the fire, for it will burn you.
  Don’t trust the ice, for it will freeze you.
  Don’t trust the water, for it will drown you.
  Don’t trust the air, for it will choke you.
  Don’t trust the earth, for it will bury you.
  Don’t trust the trees, for they will rip you,
  rend you, tear you, kill you dead.

  It’s a silly little ditty, but it does serve to illustrate a very important point: that nature in this world isn’t something vast and beautiful and unfathomable to be respected or held in awe. No, the spirits are downright terrible—not merely cold and heartless but actually vicious and bloodthirsty. They are to be feared, and rightly so.

  Things were building up to be very interesting—that is, until my enthusiasm was slightly dampened by the sudden arrival of the magic school trope. Don’t get me wrong though, for I enjoy the magic school trope and everything that comes along with it very much, but this book had the potential to step off such well-trodden paths. What follows is the usual pattern of watching a young protagonist develop her personality as she gradually comes of age, making friends and learning new skills along the way. To be fair, the author did manage to surprise me with some unconventional twists, such as Daleina’s unexpected friendship with Merecot (the arrogant, overachieving “queen bee” who in almost any other YA-type story would have been immediately typecasted as the main character’s bitchy rival) or the fact that Daleina really isn’t all that talented—and she knows it but also accepts it. Our heroine is a genuinely good person who isn’t there for her own glory, having a clear understanding the true meaning of service and self-sacrifice for the greater good. She has gotten as far as she has not because she is exceptional, but simply because she works her butt off. You gotta admire that kind of dedication and work ethic.

  The really amazing parts though, were all in the second half of this book. That’s when I saw a good story make the shift to being a great one. I don’t want to give too much more away, but suffice to say the plot escalated into a high-stake crisis and very dangerous, dramatic circumstances. I really liked how everything came together, and the ending was simply stunning—in a “I can’t believe all that really just happened” kind of way.

  All in all, things tie up quite nicely but there are also plenty of seeds planted here that will no doubt be explored in the sequel. I for one cannot wait to see what else Sarah Beth Durst has in store for us. For an introduction to a series, The Queen of Blood amazes me with its potential, and I look forward to the next book with great enthusiasm.

• SciFiChick.com
  http://scifichick.com/2015/11/12/fantasy-book-review-the-girl-who-could-not-dream/
  Word count: 239

  FANTASY BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM
  NOVEMBER 12, 2015 SCIFICHICK

  The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst

  Synopsis:
  Sophie loves the hidden shop below her parents’ bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets. Who will help them, and who will betray them?

  Review:
  Sophie is a lonely girl with a unique talent. She can bring other people’s dreams into reality. Which is how she ended up with a pet Monster, who is as loyal as a dog – and can speak. Sophie helps her parents by collecting dreams from her fellow classmates. But when her parents disappear, Sophie, Monster, and a new friend try to track down the culprit.

  The Girl Who Could Not Dream is a fun and exciting fantasy for middle readers on up. With fun and colorful characters, and plenty of mystery and suspense – this book was hard to put down. Durst’s novels are always a must-read for me. And this was another one to love – as it was a fun, light-hearted (yet with some dark imagery at times), and unique story.

• Book Smugglers
  http://thebooksmugglers.com/2015/11/the-girl-who-could-not-dream-sarah-beth-durst-on-inspirations-influences.html
  Word count: 592

  THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM: SARAH BETH DURST ON INSPIRATIONS & INFLUENCES
  “Inspirations and Influences” is a series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their Inspirations and Influences. In this feature, we invite writers to talk about their new books, older titles, and their writing overall.

  Today’s guest is Smuggler-fave Sarah Beth Durst to talk about her new MG novel, The Girl Who Could Not Dream.

  DURST_AuthorPhoto_HighRes GirlCover_HiRes

  Give a warm welcome to Sarah Beth, everyone!

  I hate when I forget my dreams. Okay, yes, if it’s a boring missed-the-train dream or I-can’t-find-the-bathroom dream, I’m fine with forgetting it. But sometimes I have these fantastic dreams where I’m riding a dragon. Or escaping from aliens. Or befriending griffins.

  Once, I dreamed I was Cindy Brady’s imaginary friend. That was my oddest, most vivid dream.

  When I have a particularly good dream, I smack my alarm clock, lie still, and try to fix the dream in my mind. They’re slippery, though — the second I start wondering if I left the laundry in the dryer or if I should wear the jeans with holes in the knee or without (hint: the answer depends on whether I’ll be seeing any non-family people that day), the memory of my dream slips away like a fish through a stream.

  Even when I manage to remember a dream, it changes. My conscious mind tries to make it make a little more sense. Or be a little more exciting. Or it adds bits or subtracts bits or accidentally loses bits… I often find myself wishing I could capture my dreams, bottle them up and save them to dream again later…

  And that’s exactly where the idea for my new book, THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM, came from.

  Sophie’s family owns a secret dream shop where they buy, bottle, and sell dreams. Her best friend, a loyal and cupcake-loving monster named Monster, came to life after Sophie drank a bottled monster-in-the-closet dream.

  I guess you could say this book started as a kind of wish fulfillment. I wanted my own bottled dreams. And I wanted my own Monster. But I realized as I was writing that the very act of writing this story was, in fact, me bottling a dream.

  Books are bottled dreams.

  This thought hit me so hard that I ended up writing it into the book itself:

  “All her life, Sophie had been taught that books are precious. Each one holds people and worlds. Each one is a piece of someone’s heart and mind that they chose to share. They were shared dreams.”

  This book is my dream, complete with a sarcastic cupcake-loving monster and pink ninja bunnies, and I am so excited to share it!

  GirlCover_HiResSophie loves the hidden shop below her parents’ bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets. Who will help them, and who will betray them?

  The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst is out now.

• Publishers Weekly (oops, duplicate--didn't see this one was already in the Gale reviews!)
  http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-241334-5
  Word count: 276

  The Queen of Blood

  Sarah Beth Durst. Voyager, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-241334-5

  MORE BY AND ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
  Mythopoeic Award–winner Durst (Chasing Power) launches her Queens of Renthia series with a stellar and imaginative tale. In the fantasy world of Renthia, spirits—tangible magical beings associated with the four elements—would destroy all humans if it weren’t for the queen, a powerful chosen ruler who can control them. When a group of spirits destroys an outlying village, young Daleina chases them off and discovers that she has the power to potentially be a queen one day. After training for years at the academy, she comes under the tutelage of Ven, a disgraced champion (and former lover) of the current queen, Fara, and they work to make Daleina stronger as it becomes more apparent that Fara might be losing control of the spirits. Durst ably dispenses with tropes of the genre, zooming through the standard “young magician at the academy” plot to focus on Daleina’s growth as both a person and a potential queen. In addition to a solid cast of characters and great political intrigue, Durst delivers some fascinating worldbuilding, and the spirits are malevolent, cunning, wild, and mysterious antagonists. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Sept.)
  DETAILS
  Reviewed on: 07/25/2016
  Release date: 09/20/2016
  Compact Disc - 978-1-4417-1464-0
  Downloadable Audio - 978-0-06-256394-1
  Paperback - 368 pages - 978-0-06-266206-4
  Compact Disc - 978-1-4417-1467-1
  MP3 CD - 978-1-4417-1472-5
  Ebook - 368 pages - 978-0-06-241336-9

• Kirkus Reviews
  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sarah-beth-durst/the-queen-of-blood/
  Word count: 382

  Quoted in Sidelights: how a plucky young woman develops her unconventional magic in time to save everyone,
  And: Enough substance to break from the pack; here’s hoping that future volumes pull even farther ahead.

  KIRKUS REVIEW

  In the first of a new fantasy series by Durst (The Girl Who Could Not Dream, 2015, etc.), a woman with apparently weak magical abilities but exceptional smarts and determination competes to rule her land.

  Aratay is a land where all the villages and even the cities are improbably built among the tree branches. This closeness to nature has its extreme downside, as the forest is swarming with wood, earth, water, air, and ice spirits whose deepest instinct is to exterminate humans. Paradoxically, the spirits are also compelled to forfeit some of their power to the queen they select, allowing that single human to control them all and forestall their more destructive tendencies. But is the current queen, Fara, losing that control? In spite of the queen, spirits slaughtered the village of Greytree—everyone but the family of Daleina, who revealed an affinity toward the spirits and managed to hold them off. Years later, Daleina begins training to become one of the queen’s potential heirs but cannot match the magical strength of her fellow candidates. Nevertheless, her drive and intelligence attract the disgraced Champion Ven, Queen Fara’s former lover, who hones the young woman’s skills and in the process discovers Fara’s terrible secret. There are plenty of fantasy bildungsromans that chronicle how a plucky young woman develops her unconventional magic in time to save everyone, and those even mildly familiar with the trope will foresee several aspects of the plot. However, it’s rare for a tale like this to have such an incredibly high body count or to force the protagonist to make the dark choices Daleina must. The overriding message—that great strength administered without heed for the consequences is inferior to the ability to intelligently apply a smaller amount of power—has also been shared before, but this is a particularly effective (if bloody) dissemination.

  Enough substance to break from the pack; here’s hoping that future volumes pull even farther ahead.
  Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1st, 2016

Word Count