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WORK TITLE: His Mortal Demise
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WEBSITE: http://www.vanessa-le.com/
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PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Brown University (health and human biology); University of California Irvine School of Medicine.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Medical student and writer.
AWARDS:Forbes “30 under 30” for 2025.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
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Vanessa Le is a Vietnamese American from the Pacific Northwest who studied biology and medicine and is a fan of science and fantasy books. She was listed in Forbes “30 under 30” in 2025 under the news and media category for publishing her debut young adult fantasy book that combines her interests in science and medicine. The Last Bloodcarver, book one of “The Last Bloodcarver” series, about a daughter of immigrants gifted with the power to heal, received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.
In The Last Bloodcarver, in the technocratic city-state of Theumas, 18-year-old Nhika of the Yarongese people is a heartsooth, someone with the ability to manipulate a person’s body and blood with just a touch. It’s delicate work, and when a healing goes awry, she’s branded a bloodcarver, a monster who can kill with a touch. She’s kidnapped, sold on the black market for her powers, and bought by Mimi, a daughter in the wealthy Congmi family. But instead of doing harm, Mimi wants Nhika to revive the comatose witness to her father’s suspicious death and solve a mystery that brings Nhika into the city’s criminal underworld. She meets the young Ven Kochin, a mysterious doctor’s assistant, who knows secrets involved in the case. Nhika is conflicted on whether to help this wealthy family who trusts her.
In this Vietnamese-inspired dark fantasy debut, Le uses “visceral and exquisitely rendered prose, intertwining a murder investigation with themes of unresolved grief, medical ethics, and lost heritage,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Writing in School Library Journal, Austin Ferraro noted that “political machinations surrounding the investigation are complex enough to be intriguing but not overwhelming. The intricate magic system is exceptional.” In a Booklist review, Allie Stevens remarked: “Medically based magic, a world full of mechanistic creations, and incredibly lovable side characters are icing on the cake” in this darkly biological fantasy with a Vietnamese foundation. “The story demands, in the best possible ways, that readers think, posing questions of identity, family, and trust for them to ponder,” declared a critic in Kirkus Reviews.
Le explained to an interviewer at School Library Journal that she wrote The Last Bloodcarver as she was struggling with her identity as an Asian American, which manifested in the character Nhika, who was living in a world that didn’t accept her. Le said: “If my readers are going through such trials with identity, isolation, and legacy, I hope they take away a sense of solace: the full weight of legacy is no one’s burden to bear alone.” Speaking to Nerd Daily’s Elise Dumpleton, Le noted that she got the inspiration for The Last Bloodcarver from an “enormous yet self-inflicted burden of legacy [as an Asian American], the idea that I had to be a certain way…if I wanted to honor my family.” She added: “Nhika’s journey was really my own journey…She’s a daughter of immigrants, the world is a mixture of Western and Eastern influences, and the magic system is intensely biological. The words had never flowed so easily on the page.”
In the sequel, His Mortal Demise, Kochin, a heartsooth, can’t bring back to life his love, Nhika, who had been shot saving his life, so he carries her body to the island of Yarong, the home of the heartsooths. There is a way to bring the dead back but it carries a heavy price. Nhika wakes up in the Congmi Manor and must piece together what Kochin did to bring her back. Meanwhile, the city-state of Theumas is in a state of war. “The characters are richly and sensitively portrayed, and Nhika and Kochin’s slow-burn romance is well integrated into the plot” even as they fight for peace and freedom, noted a writer in Kirkus Reviews. With the story told from both Nhika and Kochin’s points of view, “Le’s unique story structure keeps tensions high by approaching the mystery from both sides, cleaving Nhika and Kochin’s character arcs to their exploration of morality,” wrote Emmy Neal in School Library Journal.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15 2024, Allie Stevens, review of The Last Bloodcarver, p. 52.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2024, review of The Last Bloodcarver; January 15, 2025, review of His Mortal Demise.
School Library Journal, March 2024, Austin Ferraro, review of The Last Bloodcarver, p. 89; February 2025, Emmy Neal, review of His Mortal Demise, p. 68.
ONLINE
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (March 2024), review of The Last Bloodcarver.
Vanessa Le website, http://www.vanessa-le.com/ (August 10, 2025).
My name is Vanessa Le and I write books!
Vanessa Le is a Vietnamese American author from the Pacific Northwest. She graduated from Brown University with a concentration in Health and Human Biology. She loves anything science fantasy. Nowadays, you can find her writing or gaming when she should really be studying.
Vanessa is represented by Ramona Pina at BookEnds Literary Agency.
Q&A: Vanessa Le, Author of ‘The Last Bloodcarver’
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·March 21, 2024·5 min read
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We chat with author Vanessa Le about The Last Bloodcarver, which is a tantalising romance of These Violent Delights meets the mechanical wonders of Cinder and features a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired fantasy world.
Hi, Vanessa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
My name is Vanessa Le, and I’m the debut author of The Last Bloodcarver! I’m a huge fan of science and fantasy both—I studied biology in college and now I’m studying medicine—so my writing has always been a combination of those two loves. It only makes sense that my debut is a story about a daughter of immigrants gifted with the power to heal.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I don’t know if I can place my finger on any specific moment where I first discovered a love for storytelling—I feel like I’ve always loved stories. I was a reader first; I devoured basically any book I came across. My first “novels” were inspired by the stories I consumed, across many mediums: books, movies, video games, and anime.
However, in college, I took a big step back from writing and reading for pleasure to focus on my pre-med studies. Strangely enough, it was the pandemic that reignited my love for writing. Not only did the online classes give me a lot more mental space to write, but my hiatus from creativity gave me space to figure out who I was—and what I wanted to say through my writing. That was the moment I fell in love with writing again: when my stories felt truly mine.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
The first book you ever remember reading: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The one that made you want to become an author: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Your debut novel, The Last Bloodcarver, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Medical, brutal, serpentine, heartfelt, and authentic.
What can readers expect?
The Last Bloodcarver is a YA science fantasy with a dash of mystery, so expect some familiar tropes: a whodunnit? plotline, a love interest with secrets, and a tenacious heroine with a dangerous curiosity. However, this book has elements that are very personal to me as well. What seems like a story about a dead man and his murderer is really a story about reconnecting with one’s culture and learning to live with the burden of legacy. In addition, readers can expect a fun magic system that combines my two loves: science and fantasy. Hopefully, there’s something for everyone in The Last Bloodcarver: suspense, romance, sincerity, and homecoming.
Where did the inspiration for The Last Bloodcarver come from?
I wrote The Last Bloodcarver during the pandemic, when being Asian felt isolating. And it was a very interesting time in my life—applying to medical school and watching my grandmother go through the stages of dementia. I felt this enormous yet self-inflicted burden of legacy, the idea that I had to be a certain way or achieve certain things or remember certain customs if I wanted to honor my family. Inevitably, I needed somewhere to put all these thoughts, and The Last Bloodcarver was a ready punching bag. Nhika’s journey was really my own journey, and everything else formed around it naturally because I was writing very close to heart. She’s a daughter of immigrants, the world is a mixture of Western and Eastern influences, and the magic system is intensely biological. The words had never flowed so easily on the page.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing Nhika’s medical magic system—her heartsoothing. Each instance felt a bit like a
challenge to me: translate something scientific into something fantastical yet accurate. I also had so much fun choosing each specific illness or injury used in The Last Bloodcarver and its sequel. It was a puzzle to find just the right affliction that would not only fit into the plot, but also convey the symbology of the moment in a scientifically sound manner—but when I did, it was like magic.
Otherwise, I loved writing Trin and Nhika’s sibling-like relationship. Of all the characters in the book, their dynamic evolves the greatest and is the most meaningful relationship I wanted to convey. Writing that balance between distrust and respect was incredibly enjoyable. When looking back on The Last Blooodcarver now, I’m still very proud of these moments.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It was both so fast and so slow.
First, it was fast. I wrote The Last Bloodcarver over 2-3 months in 2022, after I’d graduated from college. Originally, I wrote the novel for Pitch Wars, a now-dead (RIP) mentorship contest. However, thanks to #DVPit, a pitch event on Twitter (where we pitch our stories to agents in a post format), I got multiple agent offers and withdrew my application from the contest. I signed with Ramona Pina at BookEnds Agency, who has been a wonderful advocate and amazing agent on this journey. We submitted the manuscript to editors in February of 2023 and got an offer from Roaring Brook Press that same month! It was a complete whirlwind for those first couple months.
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Then, it was slow: long pauses, many rounds of editing, and my original publication date moved back three months for logistical purposes. But this time was magical in its own way. I got to see my book take shape and was privileged to work with so many people who believed in my writing. I also learned, very much against my will, the virtue of patience.
Now around launch, life is fast again. While I’ve had to juggle my writing deadlines with my academic ones, the hardest part right now has been preparing for the world to see my book: as much a part of me as a vital organ is. But thanks to supportive friends and a superb publishing team, I have felt absolutely blessed every step of my publishing journey, and hope—fingers crossed—that pub date is equally amazing.
What’s next for you?
For one, The Last Bloodcarver’s sequel—title to be announced—comes out next year, so stay tuned for that! Otherwise, my writing tends to draw closely from my experiences, and I’m currently back in academia, so expect something from that zeitgeist. While I can’t promise anything, I can say that everything I write will continue to marry science, fantasy, and struggles very specific to the Asian American experience.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
So many. I love anything with a good mystery, and I’ve been eyeing Ciera Burch’s Something Kindred since last year. This one comes out in April and I’ll be grabbing a copy. Additionally, ever since reading Strike the Zither by Joan He, I have been dying for its sequel, Sound the Gong, also out in April!
I also have some amazing friends debuting this year. I was privileged to read an early version of A Banh Mi For Two by Trinity Nguyen. This is an absolutely heartwarming and perfectly sapphic exploration of Vietnamese cuisine coming in August! And Inferno’s Heir by Tiffany Wang, releasing in October, has one of the most tenacious and clever female protagonists I’ve ever read. Overall, I feel privileged to be a 2024 debut, coming out alongside so many amazing books.
New Client Alert – Vanessa Le
By: Ramona Pina | Date: Apr 15 2022
Vanessa-scaled
Name: Vanessa Le
What you Write: YA SFF
Agent: Ramona Pina
Why BookEnds?:
For one, I felt a great connection with my agent, Ramona Pina. Somehow, she guessed the plot of my sequel based on the ending of my queried manuscript, which told me that our visions were well aligned! In addition, I love BookEnds’ author advocacy. Not only do they have fantastic online resources for authors, but my agent asked me a question that no other offering agents did: What was my greatest author goal? I got the sense that the agents at BookEnds were truly working to support me.
What genres do you write? Read?
I write a variety of SFF, but my sweet spot is second world (science) fantasy. I also love writing close to home, so my stories are often Asian speculative fiction. In terms of reading, my absolute favorite books can be described as escapist—anything that can transport and immerse me in a world to make me forget my own.
Plotter or pantster?
Religious plotter. I love the potential in a clean and thorough outline, which isn’t to say that I don’t leave room for some improvisation. But, I am famously indecisive when presented with infinite possibilities, so the choice paralysis from the blank page of a blind draft would simply render me useless.
Synopses, love them or hate ‘em?
Hate that I love them. It’s a little daunting to present one to an agent or editor, but they’re rewarding to write after you’ve just finished a manuscript. It’s the culmination of all your hard work on a single page, like a resume for your novel. It’s a nice chance to reflect on the small victories, even as you’re trimming off entire subplots for wordcount.
Do you have a writing playlist or a vision board? If so, what’s on them?
I’ve got a playlist on Spotify and a vision board on Notion for all my projects. I love Notion especially; it’s the perfect bullet journal for those who are afraid of permanence. It’s my favorite way to organize my projects into a single, cohesive workspace.
Drink of choice when writing? When not writing?
I usually don’t snack or drink while writing, but during all other occasions, Arizona Green Tea is my nectar.
Day or Night writer?
I write during both day and night, but I prefer nighttime because there’s a special sweet spot on the knife-point between lucidity and sleepiness where words flow unthinkingly, when I forget the self-consciousness of perfection and just write. I think Hemingway may have used alcohol to the same effect.
Where can readers find you on the web and social media?
You can find me @vanessalewrites on Twitter or on my author website, vanessa-le.com!
Student Spotlight: Vanessa Le Blends Dual Passions with Medical Mystery Novels
Posted: 2025-06-02
Source: UCI School of Medicine
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When Forbes published its “30 under 30” for 2025, Vanessa Le could hardly believe she made the list. “My first thought was that it wasn’t real,” says Le, a student in the UC Irvine School of Medicine. The annual list highlights notable people under the age of 30 in various industries, and Le was spotlighted for media. “There was a lot of imposter syndrome involved,” she says. “But I’m immensely grateful for having been chosen.”
It’s not every day an aspiring physician is recognized as a rising star in the media world of “news and content,” but doubling as the author of two popular medical mystery novels, Le is more than deserving. She heads into her third year of medical school having published two books in two years: The Last Bloodcarver (2024) and His Mortal Demise (2025). The duology, which tells the story of a girl who can alter the biology of anyone she touches, is the result of Le finding a way to blend her two passions.
Finding Her Higher Calling
“When I was young, I knew I wanted to be either a doctor or an author,” says Le. “It’s a blessing I am able to do both in one lifetime, but writing came first.” The initial sign of her budding career as an author appeared on her first birthday.
“My family celebrates the Asian tradition of a ‘choosing ceremony’ during first birthdays,” says Le, “where they place an assortment of items around the baby so that she can choose her future.” Le chose a pen. It seemed the perfect fit as writing became a “creative catharsis” for her growing up.
In college, however, Le gave up writing to pursue her newfound interest in medicine. She attended Brown University, graduating with a concentration in health and human biology. “Medicine felt like a higher calling,” she says, though she confesses that a penchant for “zombie apocalypse movies” was another motivating factor. “In every apocalypse scenario, doctors are invaluable. There are so few job titles that endure the end of times, and MD is one of them!”
Vanessa Lee in a white lab coat, standing in front of a UC Irvine backdrop
Le at the UC Irvine White Coat Ceremony.
The “doctors as heroes” plotline took on a new meaning for Le during the COVID-19 global pandemic, bolstering her decision to apply to medical school. “I chose UC Irvine for my medical education largely for the location, but I’ve since fallen in love with Orange County’s weather, its Vietnamese community and their food, and most importantly, its people. I couldn’t be happier.”
Yet the pandemic didn’t just encourage Le to apply to medical school. As the world shut down around her, it also afforded her the opportunity to start writing again. “It wasn’t until the pandemic that I had time to balance both — and realized I needed both to feel truly fulfilled.”
Blending Her Two Passions
Le has since realized that writing and medicine aren’t as different as she once thought. “They’re both incredibly time-consuming and rejection-heavy processes,” she says, “but they’re also both forms of art.”
Writing offers a creative outlet for dealing with the demands of working in medicine, while Le’s medical knowledge inspires her stories. “Writing, for me, is a method of unwinding my stress and processing my experiences — something every healthcare worker needs,” she says. “The other silver lining is that I write stories that tie closely with my studies. More often, I find that both writing and medicine have benefited, rather than detracted from, my pursuit of the other.”
Vanessa Le holds her book, The Last Bloodcarver
Le with her Advance Reader Copy of The Last Bloodcatcher.
The timing has also worked out well for her. “The stars have aligned on my journey; I’ve been fortunate that many writing deadlines have come to me during lulls in my medical career,” she says, noting that although her debut novel came out while she was in medical school, it was completed before she actually started. The sequel was last year’s work. “I was able to upfront a lot of the work and see those payoffs now, as I’m entering the thick of my education.”
Luckily, she’ll have her writing to help her manage the stress. “While I can’t reveal much about my upcoming works, I can tell you that there’s definitely more to come from me,” she says. “Everything I write is intimately inspired by my experiences in life, which makes for very honest, yet terrifyingly vulnerable, writing.”
Learn more by following Le (@lochnessly) on Instagram.
“Don’t Be Afraid to Pursue Your Passions While in Medical School” Author Vanessa Le
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Author Vanessa Le
The AAMC team sat down to talk with Vanessa Le, author of The Last Bloodcarver and second-year medical student at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Vanessa shared how writing and medicine are intertwined in her life.
What sparked your interest in medicine?
I’ve always been between two things — writing and medicine. I started seriously wanting to get into medicine when we started dissection in my high school anatomy class. That interest continued into college. I became an EMT on campus during undergrad. Being able to be there for people when they were at their lowest point confirmed that medicine was the path for me.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My early work was inspired by things I was reading, things I thought I could write differently from my perspective.
How did you decide to pursue both writing and medicine?
I didn’t think it was possible to pursue medicine and be a writer professionally. But when I was a junior in college, the pandemic hit. I took my junior and senior year classes from home and found myself with a lot more time. I used this time to start writing again. I took two gap years between graduation and applying to medical school. Because I was used to dedicating so much time to school and studying, I found myself with a lot of free time after work. I continued writing and decided to look into agents.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It depends on if I have a deadline or not. What’s pretty standard is I wake up as late as I can to get ready for class or the hospital. I typically start my day with about half an hour of Anki review and then go to class. I set a schedule for myself by creating school-related Google Tasks to accomplish for each day. When those are complete, I transition from med school time to writing.
A lot of people ask how I do it. But writing really is an outlet for me, like therapy or watching TV. It’s how I unwind at the end of the day. I just happened to get lucky that my hobby is a field I can publish and make money in.
What parts of balancing your writing and med school do you find most challenging? What parts do you find most rewarding?
The most challenging thing is just the pure amount of time in a day. I get 24 hours each day to dedicate solely to writing and medicine. In addition to being time-consuming, writing and medicine are both rejection- and stress-heavy jobs. And as someone who likes to be in control, they are both so out of your control in many ways.
Still, I find there are more rewards than deficits. My writing is medicine-inspired. Being able to combine my passions and find a creative outlet for my scientific interests is extremely rewarding. It allows me to see medicine in a different way and has elevated both my writing and my medical practice to be able to connect the two.
How do your experiences as a med student contribute to your writing? And in what way does your writing benefit you as an aspiring physician?
It’s very important to me that every book I write is honest to myself. My books reflect my lived experience. Having experiences is necessary to being able to craft a meaningful story that connects to people. Medicine informs my writing; it gives me something to write about. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Writing, on the other hand, helps me remember that medicine is not my life 24-7 and lets me have a creative outlet. It also really sticks in your mind when you write something. I’ll never forget the things I research for my books. They often become plot points in my writing but also serve as a way to retain the things I’ve learned.
What advice do you have for premed and med students who want to pursue passions outside of medicine?
Don’t be afraid if your passions take time away from your clinical interests. The med school application process is a lot more holistic than you may think. Test scores are incredibly important, and I don’t want to insinuate otherwise. But at my school I’m surrounded by amazing people, and what makes them amazing is the people they are outside of medicine. I was interviewed many times during my application cycle, and the thing I was always asked about was my book. While pursuing a time-consuming passion comes with sacrifices, it’s been incredibly worthwhile for self-fulfillment and professional development.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’d like to wish everyone good luck. My dad often says, “Everything is a steppingstone.” You’ll get there eventually if you want it hard enough. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while.
To keep up with Vanessa and her work, follow her on Instagram or visit her website.
Author Vanessa Le on YA Debut ‘The Last Bloodcarver’ | 5 Questions and a Rec
by SLJ Reviews
Apr 03, 2024 | Filed in News & Features
0
In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. In the latest installment, Vanessa Le shares about The Last Bloodcarver.
1. Congrats on your YA debut! How would you describe your book to readers?
On the surface, The Last Bloodcarver is a medical magic murder mystery about a girl who can alter anatomy with a touch, hired to heal the last living witness of a murder. But I truly wrote this story about the burden of legacy, and how one lonely girl grapples with it while sniffing out a murderer.
Vanessa Le, photo by NT Lam2. What drew you to YA to tell this story?
For me, YA is a sweet spot—mature enough to touch on themes I want to address, but also widely accessible for children and adults alike. It was the age where stories truly changed my outlook on the world, so I wanted to add to this growing collection of literature that can hopefully impact kids in the future.
3. What, if anything, surprised you while writing it?
When writing first drafts, I don’t always plan for themes. That’s a second, third draft problem. Of course, I came into The Last Bloodcarver with an idea of what I wanted to say, which was about how isolating it sometimes felt to be Vietnamese American. But when I read the story back, I found unintended themes of legacy, acculturation, and grief that were all relevant to my life at the time. Naturally, it took a couple more rewrites and editorial rounds to truly bring those themes to the forefront, but they ultimately shaped the story a lot more than the ones I had planned from the start.
4. Tell us more about the characters. Which character do you most identify with and why?
The main character, Nhika, was a vessel for all my struggles at the time—with identity, belonging, and family. All of the other characters are mirrors of her: Andao and Mimi struggle with remembrance in the face of loss; Trin represents her journey of acculturation; and Kochin is someone she might’ve been, in another life. Because I gave Nhika so many of my unique adversities, I identify greatly with her—although, her confident and brazen personality is quite opposite to my own.
The Last Bloodcarver book cover5. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
This story was written during a time when I was struggling with what it meant to be Asian American. All this uncertainty manifested itself as a character, Nhika, living in a world that doesn’t accept her. Throughout the novel, she labors against the burden of her cultural heritage after she’s lost all the people who might remember it. Without spoilers, she does find reconnection through small moments and unexpected allies. As I wrote this book, I was finding out answers to our shared struggle just as Nhika was. In many ways, I feel like I created this story, selfishly, for myself. However, I’m not alone in this journey. If my readers are going through such trials with identity, isolation, and legacy, I hope they take away a sense of solace: the full weight of legacy is no one’s burden to bear alone. And for those who might not see themselves in the characters or the struggle—that’s perfectly fine! I hope I’ve written a fun enough tale that everyone is able to find something to enjoy within The Last Bloodcarver’s pages.
6. Finally, we love YA and recommendations—what’s your favorite YA book you've read recently?
Recently, I read and loved The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. It’s another book that features a healer main character—but the twist is that she heals within the confines of a prison. I absolutely loved the mix of pharmacy and magical worldbuilding, as well as the questions of duty and justice that are explored when a healer’s patients fall on all sides of a political conflict—one that inadvertently ropes in the main character herself.
* LE, Vanessa. The Last Bloodcarver. 384p. (The Last Bloodcarver Duology: Bk. 1). Roaring Brook. Mar. 2024. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781250881526.
Gr 7 Up--As the last practitioner of the Yarongese art of heartsoothing, Nhika is an outcast because of this medicine-based magic and her Yarongese ancestry. A patient visit gone awry ends with the wealthy Congmi family buying Nhika's services on the black market, tumbling her into the secret investigation of their patriarch's recent, suspicious death. Throughout, the lies and political machinations surrounding the investigation are complex enough to be intriguing but not overwhelming. The intricate magic system is exceptional, unique, and clearly conveyed. Yet the starring plotline is Nhika's journey to reconcile her connection to her Yarongese heritage with the narrative of the Yarongese people that Theumas perpetuates--a journey subtly marked by whether the more nuanced "heartsoothing" or the semi-perjorative "bloodcarving" is used to describe Nhika's skill. This reconciliation is aided by her relationship with sometime rival, sometime ally Ven Kochin. The romance that develops between the two is underdeveloped given the role it plays in the finale; ironically, the lack of romantic focus is likely to increase the appeal for some teens. Characters are largely coded as East or Southeast Asian; significant side characters are queer. VERDICT All collections will benefit from this unequivocal first purchase that will resonate especially deeply with immigrant and diasporic teens struggling to see themselves in media.--Austin Ferraro
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Ferraro, Austin. "LE, Vanessa. The Last Bloodcarver." School Library Journal, vol. 70, no. 3, Mar. 2024, p. 89. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A786340693/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=932478b6. Accessed 17 June 2025.
Le, Vanessa THE LAST BLOODCARVER Roaring Brook Press (Teen None) $19.99 3, 19 ISBN: 9781250881526
Nhika has been called many terrible things throughout her short life, but she knows herself to be a heartsooth.
Heartsooths can read and manipulate a person's body and blood with a mere touch of skin on skin. But in the technocratic city-state of Theumas, she's feared and reviled as a monstrous bloodcarver. After Nhika's captured by Butchers and sold to Mimi, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, she's set a seemingly impossible task--to heal the barely surviving witness to Mimi's father's recent untimely death. Nhika finally begins to hope she might be accepted and that she can use her gift as it was intended, laying some of the ghosts of her past to rest. But a chance meeting with Kochin, a mysterious boy who knows more than he should, soon spirals into a tangled web of intrigue and evil beyond her imagining. Nhika faces an impossible choice: whether to "help the first family to trust her, or follow the last person in the city who might truly understand her." Le writes with meticulous care. The richly detailed worldbuilding is infused with Vietnamese cultural elements, and the characters, viewed through Nhika's jaded yet desperately hopeful eyes, are sympathetic and complex, expressing conflicting emotions and motivations. The story demands, in the best possible ways, that readers think, posing questions of identity, family, and trust for them to ponder. The insidiously twisty ending packs a punch, leaving an opening for a sequel.
An entrancingly well-written debut. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Le, Vanessa: THE LAST BLOODCARVER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779191186/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d27e7d52. Accessed 17 June 2025.
* The Last Bloodcarver. By Vanessa Le. Mar. 2024. 384p. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (9781250881526). Gr. 9-12.
Widely known as a monster called a bloodcarver, though known to herself as a heartsooth and trained by her grandmother to heal, Nhika has always been aware that using her powers comes with a great risk of discovery. When the inevitable happens and she is betrayed by someone she tries to help, Nhika is captured by the ruthless Butchers and sold to the highest bidder--a mysterious and obscenely wealthy girl intent on finding the man who killed her father. As Nhika works to bring the only witness to the murder back to consciousness while living in the luxurious Congmi estate, she must also decide whom to trust and what kind of monster she is willing to be in order to save a life--and whose life is worth saving. Medically based magic, a world full of mechanistic creations, and incredibly lovable side characters are icing on the cake of this slow burn, deeply romantic, and darkly biological fantasy with a Vietnamese foundation. An explosively surprising ending sets up the next piece of the story, and questions of heritage, justice, and value are explored in subtle, metaphoric ways in an engrossing, emotionally intense debut.--Allie Stevens
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
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Stevens, Allie. "The Last Bloodcarver." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2024, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A783436458/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bcef267c. Accessed 17 June 2025.
* LE, Vanessa. His Mortal Demise. 400p. (The Last Bloodcarver Duology: Bk. 2). Roaring Brook. Mar. 2025. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781250881540.
Gr 7 Up--After the deadly ending of The Last Bloodcarver, this dual-POV, dual time line sequel inspired by Vietnamese folklore sees Nhika brought back to life--and the price Kochin paid to do it. Nhika wakes up in Congmi Manor with her memories just out of reach and slow to return --she remembers getting shot, but not what happened after. Six months previously, readers see Kochin sailing his houseboat upriver with a casket--with Nhika's body preserved inside and his love for her driving him forward. His plans to resurrect her may cost more than he imagined. After waking, Nhika must navigate across a war-torn Theumas to find Kochin, discover how he brought her back, and what terrible price he paid to do it. The divided time lines provide a clever balance to the plot as readers are able to stay with Nhika and solve the mystery of what happened in the time skip while Kochin pursues the mysteries of resurrection. Le's unique story structure keeps tensions high by approaching the mystery from both sides, cleaving Nhika and Kochin's character arcs to their exploration of morality and place in society. Their power as "heartsooths," pejoratively called "bloodcarvers," continues to recall themes of medical ethics and cultural heritage in diaspora as in the first book. Fast-paced, full of lush details, this novel sees Le expand upon the dangerous world introduced in The Last Bloodcarver. Characters are coded Southeast Asian, with queer supporting characters. VERDICT Sharp and satisfying, this duology belongs in all teen collections.--Emmy Neal
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Neal, Emmy. "LE, Vanessa. His Mortal Demise." School Library Journal, vol. 71, no. 2, Feb. 2025, pp. 68+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A836878875/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bf327836. Accessed 17 June 2025.
Le, Vanessa HIS MORTAL DEMISE Roaring Brook Press (Teen None) $19.99 3, 18 ISBN: 9781250881540
This duology closer following 2024'sThe Last Bloodcarver explores how far you would go to save what you loved most.
As powerful a healing art as heartsoothing can be, it all boils down to the transfer of energy. Even a heartsooth can't bring a dead body back to life without taking another, equivalent, life in exchange. Nhika gave her life and the gift of her heartsoothing to save Kochin, the unlikely ally she grew to love. But six months later, she wakes up with no knowledge of how she lived before or why--and Kochin, whom she does remember, is nowhere to be found. Past and present converge as war descends on the land of Theumas, and Nhika works to piece together the truth of what happened. Meanwhile, Kochin finds himself at the very end of his strength and morals, torn between defiling his art--Nhika's parting gift to him--and reclaiming it. Le picks up where the previous installment left off without slacking the pace, and she immediately draws readers back into her Vietnamese-inspired fantasy world where there are neither heroes nor villains, saviors nor monsters, but only flawed and fragile people fueled by desperation and love. The characters are richly and sensitively portrayed, and Nhika and Kochin's slow-burn romance is well integrated into the plot even as they fight for the "peace, freedom, [and] love" they've never known.
Engrossing, moving, and intricately detailed. (map)(Fantasy. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Le, Vanessa: HIS MORTAL DEMISE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102423/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ea368f28. Accessed 17 June 2025.
The Last Bloodcarver
Vanessa Le. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-250-88152-6
In the dark underbelly of the fantasy city-state of Theumas, 18-year-old Nhika ekes out a living peddling homeopathic remedies to upper-class clients desperate enough to fall for her scam. After a home visit goes awry, Nhika is outed as a bloodcarver—people with the feared ability to access and manipulate biological processes with a single touch—and kidnapped and sold on the black market. Though she expects to be forced into using her abilities for nefarious deeds, Nhika is instead bought by the scions of the Congmi, one of the wealthiest industrialist families in the city, who seek her bloodcarving to heal the comatose last witness to their patriarch’s suspicious death. Reluctant to get involved in such high-stakes political drama but eager for the opportunity to use her gift to heal, Nhika steps into a world of glamour, intrigue, and hidden agendas. But her already impossible task is further complicated by Ven Kochin, a mysterious and infuriating doctor’s assistant who keeps inserting himself into her investigation. Le expertly crafts a Vietnamese-inspired dark fantasy debut via visceral and exquisitely rendered prose, intertwining a murder investigation with themes of unresolved grief, medical ethics, and lost heritage. Ages 12–up. [em](Mar.) [/em]