The fantasy-as-metaphor vibe of Tracy Deonn's Legendborn Cycle infused with the whip-smart self-awareness of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls
Arlynn Rosemary Banson is an atypical sixteen-year-oldâthe cool, popular outsider, effortlessly straddling the line between divas and dorks. Her forever young mother, Jennifer, is dedicated to making her life awkward by trying to be her friend. Her father, Alan, is a workaholic history professor who barely acknowledges his familyâs existence. Her boyfriend, Benz, the quarterback and homecoming king, has just broken up with her, while her best friend, Joslin, bears reluctant witness to Rosemaryâs romantic drama. But nothing prepares any of them for a Welsh foreign exchange student named Emrys Balin. Emrys looks like a teenager, but he seems to act much, much older âŚ
Rosemary discovers she is part of the Lust Borne Tide, children born to the royal line of King Uther Pendragon who are imbued with mystical powers after being conceived in lust. Rosemaryâs parents are Guinevere and Lancelot, banished by King Arthur to twenty-first century suburban America prior to Rosemaryâs birth as punishment for their affair. Rosemary is the third in the Lust Borne line, after King Arthur and his son Mordred, the latter of whom has traveled to the future to continue the line of the Lust Borne Tide by retrieving Rosemary and returning her to the late fifth century to conceive a child with her. But Rosemary has other plansâplans that involve training under Emrys and kicking Mordredâs butt, as long as it doesnât interfere with prom or getting back with her boyfriend.
Action-packed and funny, but also serious and insightful, The Sword and the Sophomore goes beyond usual YA fantasy tropes to confront real-life teenage issues of social cliques, relationships, sexual agency, and profound personal loss.
"Terrifically entertaining! Sucks you into a whirlpool of teenage hormones, high-school life and Arthurian magic. Hilarious and engaging!"âDiana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series
"A tongue-in-cheek, self-aware Arthurian fantasy set in a 21st-century American suburb thatâs anchored by an empathetic, hilarious, whip-smart, fierce teen protagonist. The Sword and the Sophomore almost makes me want to write a young adult novel. Almost."âPierce Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Red Rising Saga