This Poison Heart, Book 1
By Barbara Saunders,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Dramatic, gripping story of teen girl's plant powers.
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What's the Story?
When THIS POISON HEART begins, Breseis ("Bri") lives in Brooklyn with her two adoptive moms. She has a special relationship with plants and flowers: the ability make them grow at will, and they sometimes actively respond to her presence. Her moms own a floral shop, but the business is struggling. One day, a woman comes to their home and tells Bri she has a home on four acres of land in Rhinebeck (rural upstate New York) from a biological aunt she didn't know about. The family moves to the new property for the summer, to see if they might make a new life there. When they arrive, they find strange artifacts and cryptic instructions as well as a garden of poison plants only Bri and blood relatives are supposed to enter.
Is It Any Good?
This gripping fantasy is a fun, dramatic story based on characters from Greek mythology. In This Poison Heart, author Kaylon Baron employs the same successful formula she used in Cinderella Is Dead, reworking a classic with modern characters and plot twists. This time, it's Jason and Medea. The main character, Bri, is witty and sympathetic, and there's a heartwarming dynamic between Bri, her sentimental mother, and her mother's joking wife. The author manages to give readers a satisfying ending and still leave 'em wanting more -- ready for Book 2 in the series, This Wicked Fate, coming in June 2022.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the theme of gifts in This Poison Heart. Have you ever gotten a gift that came with major expectations?
Have you ever had to shoulder an important responsibility alone?
The author bases this story on a Greek myth. Was that effective? Do you have a favorite myth tradition?
Book Details
- Author: Kalynn Bayron
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publication date: January 16, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 370
- Available on: Paperback, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 10, 2022
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