Veil A Hush novel

Gr 7 Up--This title is a strong sequel to Hush, a dystopian narrative in which protagonist Shae learns she is a powerful Bard with the ability to will good or bad into existence with a mere word--aka the Telling. The story continues as Shae and her companions travel a dangerous path from the wastelands of Montane toward Gondal, a legendary land ruled by technology and science rather than magic. They seek to retrieve the Book of Days, which Shae believes is the key to changing everything for her people. Upon reaching the Gondal city of Tybera, Shae must decide if she can once again trust Ravod by relinquishing the book in a Gondal power play over Montane and its villainous leader, Cathal, or join the Protesters, refugees from her homeland who have failed to receive citizenship or much support from Gondal. Ultimately, with the book, her companions, and fate on their side, Shae returns to Montane prepared to confront Cathal or die trying. Strong themes of friendship, guilt, the power of knowledge, and identity are explored within a tightly written narrative. The characterization and worldbuilding are more fully realized in this conclusion of the duology. VERDICT Readers of Hush and those interested in YA dystopian fantasy will enjoy this book.--Linsey Milillo

Shae and her friends seek to overthrow Cathal's oppressive reign in this duology closer. Guided by a capriciously behaving torn page from the Book of Days, Shae and companions--prickly former trainer Kennan, best friend Fiona, and former suitor Mads--race across Montane in hopes of reaching safety in Gondal. They succeed, learning lots of backstory in the process about Shae's mother and the Bard rebellion in general. But Gondal, though quite nifty (and fun to explore through Shae's unworldly eyes), has problems of its own, resulting in the intense marginalization of Montanian refugees. While the heroes try to figure out whom they can trust and how to improve the lives of their countrymen at home and abroad, there's a strong theme of speaking up as not being enough; though the explicit calls to action and critiques of ineffective protests can be didactic at times, these moments are justified by how they fit into the plot. Themes aside, the plot's story beats are familiar enough that some plot twists will be expected. Plenty of action sequences and rising stakes provide incentive to ignore these moments of predictability. In the relationship storylines, Shae's still reeling and off balance in dealing with her feelings of attraction to and betrayal by Ravod; her friendships are given equal weight, though. Among secondary characters, there's a girl-girl romance and nonbinary representation. Aside from dark-skinned Kennan, characters default to White. An easy-to-engage-with slice of escapism that fans of the first volume will appreciate. (Fantasy. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.