Review Detail

THE LOST QUEEN is an engaging YA fantasy about family, humanity, and destiny. Jolie is a high school sophomore who lost her friends after a spectacular meltdown during a swim meet. She feels as if she is in exile when she helps to rescue one of her former friends and the new junior who is very popular after they bump heads in the water. The new junior, Huong, takes an interest in her, helping to navigate her social world with her former friends and helping her to find her destiny.

What I loved: This was a unique read that begins feeling like a contemporary - high school troubles and social life challenges but builds into a broad fantasy. That being said, Jolie has always been close to the supernatural with her grandfather being a thay boi, someone with insight into the future. The book is woven with mythology and legends, stories that appear between chapters throughout. These built slowly until, through Jolie, the reader begins to understand the wider destiny/story.

Jolie was a compelling character, who wants to fit in and forget the embarrassing things that have happened (like any teen). She was easy to relate to, and her perspective helps to introduce the world and the fantasy elements. It was also easy to see why she was pulled into Huong's orbit, when she seemed to have things very easy socially and took an interest in Jolie, something Jolie was desperate for after so long of being isolated.

There were some great themes of family and humanity that were thought-provoking. Humanity is not always its best, but during the course of the story, it brings up the value of being human and the power inherent in human lives. This was an interesting discussion and something to think about. Destiny was another great theme, as well as the ways that individuals can forge their own.

What left me wanting more: Some of the changes in perception later in the story felt abrupt, and it would have been helpful to get more insight earlier (don't want to give specifics so as to avoid spoilers). The build at the beginning and middle were very slow, and the end felt almost too fast/abrupt. It felt difficult to immerse into the second half of the book with a lot of knowledge crammed into the space and then a quick end. This does seem like it will be a series, so this may be continued in the next book more smoothly.

Final verdict: THE LOST QUEEN is a unique YA fantasy with thought-provoking themes and lots of mythology.