The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic

Parents need to know that The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic is set in the world of author Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows duology. Three of the six stories previously appeared in a 2015 collection called Folktales from Ravka. You can read and enjoy these illustrated dark fairy tales inspired by "Hansel and Gretel," "The Little Mermaid," The Velveteen Rabbit, and more without reading other books in the series. The resourceful and brave characters in these stories are mostly young women facing difficult trials. They are cast aside for not being pretty or important, and those who belittled them often pay a price in the end. Expect some deaths and gross moments: a boy murdered, his lungs carved out; a person about to eat a child, with talk of others taken and missing; eyes pecked out by a bird; knives splitting mermaid fins into legs; a talking animal almost skinned alive and many others hunted and killed; coyotes tearing the insides from a guard. Beyond the violence, sexual content and drinking make these stories best for teens. There's kissing, straight and gay; a girl hears her father and stepmother having sex on the other side of her locked door, with banging and moaning; and Sildroher (mermaids) take lovers on land, with nothing described. Teens, adults, mermaids, bears, and foxes drink wine, beer, and plum brandy at parties and in the woods. Two male characters are described as heavy drinkers who frequent taverns.