UNTOLD by Sarah Rees Brennan

4 ½ out of 5

Sorry-in-the-Vale is about to be under attack by the sorcerer Rob Lynburn and his cronies, and Kami feels that it is up to her to stop him. The only trouble is that with the link between her and Jared now broken, Jared will hardly look at her much less help her, and Kami is, for the first time ever, just a regular girl. How can she possibly pit herself against an army of sorcerers who can kill her with a single look?

The good news is that she has a solid group of friends to help her, and Lillian Lynburn seems at least partially willing to listen to what Kami has to say. They may not all be sorcerers but they can still put up a good fight. Better yet, after a stolen kiss in a darkened hallway, it seems that Jared might be willing to forgive Kami after all. If only he’d stop throwing himself in death’s path, then they might actually have a chance at beating Rob Lynburn and making Sorry-in-the-Vale the safe, picturesque place that Kami once believed it to be.

Then there’s the fact that Kami could once again become a source, if she thinks it’s the best thing to do. The only question is this: whose source will she become?

Sarah Rees Brennan follows up the first in her series, Unspoken, with Untold, a captivating sequel about magic, family, and love that not only reveals Brennan’s cruel insanity but will leave readers driving for more.

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Right off the bat, Untold had me hooked with an awesome beginning, which I find unique because beginnings in my experience tend to be slow—perhaps this is the benefit of Untold being a sequel and therefore not needing so much introduction of characters and world-building. Regardless, it’s going to be hard for all future books to beat opening up with a battle against living scarecrows, that’s all I’m saying…

The wit in this book is hands down the best I’ve come across. Many times a blurb on the back of a book will describe the main character as having “a biting wit” when really, the character is just incredibly sarcastic, which is a trait in YA books that I’m frankly getting sick of. There IS a difference between sarcasm and wit, people. Wit is humorous. It’s not sarcastic, at least not always, and it has to be unique in order to succeed. (Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard was a book I read recently where the sarcasm was so overdone and cliché that I wanted to throw the book across the room.) Brennan’s use of wit, however, is both refreshing and entertaining. A quote for example (please note, there are far better quotes, but I spent a few minutes scouring the book and could not find the ones I was looking for. The book is 367 pages. I’m sure you can forgive me.):

“‘Don’t pretend, Cambridge,’ [Rusty] said. ‘You know my beautiful speech has made you see me in a whole new and even more attractive light. You totally think I’m secretly deep now. And you are right. It is true. I have deeps.’ He slid even lower on the sofa, his eyes falling almost completely closed. ‘Maybe,’ he added, his voice almost too casual, ‘this revelation will lead you to make the sensible decision, and go for me.’

‘And wouldn’t that be a magical thirty-six hours,’ Kami said. ‘Before you died of exhaustion.’

Rusty did something unspeakable with his eyebrows. ‘Why, Cambridge, I am scandalized!’

‘Shut up!’ Kami told him. ‘You know what I meant. Shut up your entire face.’”

-pg. 209-210, Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan (2013)

Another positive element of this book is that Brennan is deliciously cruel. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose heart was aching while reading this book. I won’t include any spoilers, but she builds you up to tear you down, and it’s becoming clear that in Brennan’s world, nothing lasts forever. She isn’t afraid to kill off the sweetest, most innocent characters, and I admire her for that.

The ending: my god. It wasn’t heart-stoppingly brilliant or anything, but it was pretty close to being awesome. It’s one of the better cliff-hangers I’ve read, and I kind of urgently need to find out what happens next. I will resist searching for answers online and spoiling it for myself.

Lastly, Untold loses half a point because I don’t believe it’s as good as the first book (Unspoken). This is partially because I miss the link between Kami and Jared and wished there wasn’t so much angst as the fallout from that. That being said, it’s rare that I write a book review with only one negative point to it, and I commend Brennan for that. I love her, and I love this book and series. I think you will too.

-Ember Book Reviews xxoo

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