Review by Booklist Review
Twelve-year-old Kaya Morgan's favorite thing is to attend the Brightcastle Renaissance Faire. Before her father was sick and passed away, he was the Head Archer and a popular figure at the fair. In addition to making memories each summer weekend, Kaya and her father dreamed of her becoming the first Black queen of the fair. When her uncle signs her up for the Faire Apprentice Camp, instead of apprenticing the queen, she is given the role as the jester. Kaya quickly sees that there are those at the faire that believe minorities only fit a certain mold, and it is up to her to break it. Since her father's death, Kaya doesn't feel like she fits in with her mom and brother, and her competitive spirit over becoming queen hinders her from building relationships with the other campers. Kaya's spunky attitude and heart will have readers rooting for her. A mix of overcoming adversity, working through grief, and creating the space where you belong, Kaya's apprenticeship journey is a perfect fit for middle-grade readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Middle schooler Kaya Morgan's happiest memories are of summer days at the North Georgia Renaissance Faire, "a magical place grounded in the real world," where she bonded over funnel cake fries with her late father, a bowman who ruled the fair's archery stall on the weekends. Now 12, Kaya is thrilled to finally join the fair's apprentice camp and train for the role her father promised her: queen. Instead, Kaya is cast as court jester. Nevertheless determined to become "the first Black queen in the Faire's forty-year history," Kaya's royal pursuits end in hollow victory when administrators, desperate to diversify the financially struggling camp's image, name her the "face of the Faire," even as they continue to maintain traditions and policies that reinforce racial stereotypes. Kaya slowly gains awareness of the real-world biases that govern the fair's carefully crafted illusions and, with help from a few friends, sets out to create the world she wants to rule. This earnest middle grade debut from Tew (The Dividing Sky) makes big questions surrounding profiling and systemic racism accessible via a smart and relatable narrator whose burgeoning, joyful agency proves a crowning achievement, indeed. Ages 8--12. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A rising seventh grader in Atlanta makes a bid to be the first Black Renaissance Faire queen. Kaya Morgan has been visiting the Renaissance Faire since she was 4. Daddy supported her dream of someday becoming Queen Kaya, but he died two years ago. Kaya has decided to participate in the Faire's Apprentice Camp with her friend Tyler, but Mama and Kev, Kaya's brother, don't really like the Faire, and they're worried that she may not be treated equitably. Kaya's plans to become queen hit a snag when the program director, Zach, assigns her the role of court jester. She's disheartened until she learns about her father's experiences at the Faire from Uncle Paul, her godfather. He encourages her but warns her that before becoming an archer, Daddy was a jester, too, and she might face a fight to achieve her dreams in this mostly white space. Kaya is determined, but she unwittingly becomes part of an exploitative diversity marketing campaign for the Faire, and her sudden visibility puts her at odds with the other campers. Ultimately, Kaya learns that being queen is about building good relationships and that she can summon the courage to define and be herself in a system that's designed to encourage homogeneity, messages that will resonate with many readers. The gaslighting and microaggressions Kaya experiences are nuanced and compelling. Japanese American Tyler experiences his own race-related challenges. An original, insightful tale about reimagining old stories and expanding previously homogeneous spaces. (glossary)(Fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
