Flower and Thorn

September 1, 2023
A teenage girl in India faces a dangerous journey to recover a rare, powerful flower. Seventeen-year-old Irinya Dewa has grown up hunting for magic flowers in the salt flats of the Rann of Kutch. When her childhood friend Fardan finds the bud of a silver spider lily, a plant not seen in decades, Irinya dreams of the possibilities. They could sell it to get their kul, or band of nomadic families, out of debt--and with its magical capabilities, the flower could turn the tide on the war with the Portuguese. Irinya initially promises not to take the flower, but an attractive man persuades her to give it to him, promising a generous financial reward. By the time she realizes she was cheated, it's too late--the vicious baniya, or moneylenders, learn what she did, and a beloved elder from her kul is killed. Vowing to make things right, Irinya sneaks off to the capital of Ahmedabad. Tigers are the least of her worries on the dangerous journey, where she gets involved with the wazir of Gujarat and the politics of the sultanate. Using her magic flowers, her blowpipe, and carefully harvested poison thorns, Irinya tries to set things right. Mehrotra reimagines India's history using beautiful, detailed worldbuilding and well-developed characters. The story explores family, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and love, beginning slowly but quickening in pace as the action increases. A well-realized fantasy world full of both beauty and danger. (glossary) (Historical fantasy. 13-18)

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Starred review from September 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Irinya learned that the Rann of Kutch was an unforgiving place when her mother went missing in the salt flats and never returned. Now 17, she's a flower hunter in a nomadic kul, indebted to the baniya with a monopoly over the rare magical flowers they track. So when her handsome friend, Fardan, finds a silver spider lily--a blossom with the power to end wars--but makes Irinya promise not to pick it, she thinks of the Portuguese quickly establishing themselves as rulers of the Indian Ocean and leaving bodies in their wake. When a stranger claiming to represent a powerful noble sows ideas of a fair wage, Irinya gives him the silver spider lily to save the Gujarat Sultanate with the promise he will return with riches and eliminate the kul's debt. When weeks pass with no word, Irinya sets off alone to find him. Although a work of fantasy, the novel is set in an alternate sixteenth-century India (at the beginning of European colonization). Should Mehrotra write a textbook on the countless atrocities of Vasco da Gama? Absolutely. Her commanding voice brings fluidity to every page, complementing the ever-ominous tone. Irinya's perilous journey is studded with unpredictable characters and heartbreaks, sparingly honeyed by fortitude and a slow-burning romance. An excellent recommendation for fans of Hafsah Faizal's We Hunt the Flame (2019).

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October 9, 2023
In this lush fantasy adventure, Mehrotra (Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove) answers the question “What if marginalized communities had magic to combat colonizers?” In the early 16th century, at the start of the Portuguese invasion of India, 17-year-old Irinya Dewa, a nomadic flower hunter, frequents the salt flats of Gujarat to gather blooms that heal and act as magical talismans. Flower hunting is dangerous work, but the survival of Irinya’s kul, which is indebted to ruthless baniya, or moneylenders, depends on it. When her childhood friend Fardan finds a flower once thought to be extinct, and Irinya is tricked by a handsome stranger to relinquish it to him, she unknowingly sets off a chain of events that leads to the slaughter of a beloved elder from her kul by the baniya. What follows is an adventure-filled quest to set things to rights in which Irinya travels to Ahmedabad, the seat of the Gujarat sultanate, to retrieve the flower that could change not only her people’s lives, but also the fate of India. While dialogue and character sensibilities sometimes read as too contemporary for the historical setting, the worldbuilding is solid in this fascinating reimagining of events that ruminates on themes of colonialism, environmentalism, greed, and power dynamics. Ages 14–up. Agent: Mary C. Moore, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc.

December 1, 2023

Gr 8 Up-Only the brave, desperate, or foolish venture into the salt flats of Rann in search of flowers. But these rare, expensive plants give their owners magical abilities. With her caravan deep in debt, Irinya uses the tricks her lost mother gave her to find the flowers and survive the wastes. However, when her friend and fellow hunter finds a spider lily, capable of conquering the invading Portuguese army, she must decide: save her caravan or save the country. When a charming traveler promises she can do both, she defies the caravan's debtors and gives the flower to him. But when the riches never come, it falls on her to make things right. Set in historical India, this tale weaves in plenty of lore and tackles themes of sexism and systemic poverty with excellent worldbuilding and political machinations. A Portuguese invasion, while out of sight, adds a touch of true history for readers to explore in further reading. The feisty protagonist doesn't shy away from the gravity of her mistakes but handles them with determination and heart. However, the story suffers from a slow start and would have benefitted from more developed secondary characters, particularly Irinya's fellow flower hunters. While Irinya's romantic exploits are a bit dizzying, the final friends-to-lovers relationship will lead readers to happy sighs. VERDICT A magical, political standalone packed with Indian mythology that will please those who stick with it.-Elisha Sheffer

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