Review Detail

What Worked:
Duck was found washed up in the reeds of Odierne’s river taken in by the child gang of thieves called the Crowns. Eight years later, the gang is back in Odierne to find new marks from whom to steal. Their sly leader, Gnat, who has never treated Duck very well but always commanded her respect and loyalty, decides at 8 she is old enough to start lifting for them. He sets her up with fake papers to become the apprentice of Master Griselde Baker and to slip them coin and bread each week.
From there, things take an unexpected turn in Duck’s life. Master Griselde is kind and loving and would readily call her daughter. She pays for Duck to receive an education, feeds her three hearty meals a day, and encourages her in a way that Duck has never known. She flourishes under Griselde’s care. She owes the Crowns her very life for taking on the burden of raising her since infancy, yet continuously stealing from Griselde turns her stomach. Is she a crown or is she something new and a bit more respectable?
Duck’s internal battle between her loyalty to the Crowns and her growing love and respect for Griselde drives the storyline to the fateful showdown when she must choose. As it all burns to the ground each person is left finding their new normal. Duck’s maturity grows in leaps and bounds as she must face the burden of her actions and work towards redemption. She must face that not everyone will choose to be helped and they must decide on their own to change their life.
What left me wanting more: Throughout the story, there are interludes from decaying stone gargoyles’ internal observations and discussions of events. I found it unnecessary. There is nothing in the plot that couldn’t have been shown in a different way without them. The Gargoyles’ perspective is established for the first 17 pages and I nearly abandoned the book. However, it was a very lovely story once we actually met Duck and the story began.
Final Verdict: This was a lovely and heartfelt story of growth and redemption for our young protagonist. A certain mindset and rules were ingrained in her from infancy and she had to reconcile that when her life changed for the better. Griselde Baker was a wonderfully developed character and I am so glad she was a kind force in Duck’s life. This is a solid story that builds and builds until Duck steps free from her past and starts on the path that she is meant to be on.