Kester Grant is a British-Mauritian writer of color. She was born in London, grew up between the UK, DemocraticRepublic of Congo, and the tropicalisland paradise of Mauritius. As a wanton nomad she and her husband are unsure which country they currently reside in, but they can generally be found surrounded by their fiendish pack of cats and dogs. You can find Kester at kestergrant.com.
France, 1829. Paris simmers with unrest following a failed revolution. The nobility rule from behind the safety of their palace walls, but in the violent jungle of the city streets, all power is held by the Wretched--a formidable court of criminals divided into nine guilds. As a member of the Thieves Guild, Nina Thénardier can steal anything, or anyone. She's defied the odds so many times, she's on her way to becoming a legend among the Wretched. Just ask the crown prince, whom she stole from. Or the revolutionary, who is drawn to her hunger for justice. Or the assassin, who secretly longs to protect her. To the vicious Guild Lord known as the Tiger, Nina is a mere nuisance. When he sets his sights on her sister, Cosette, nothing can stop him from having her. Not the disapproval of the Miracle Court, which governs the Wretched. And not the young thief he has already bested once before. But there is one thing the Tiger did not account for, a rule that runs as true as iron and bone among the Wretched: Never steal from a thief. Drawing inspiration from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Kester Grant weaves a mesmerizing tale of cruelty, passion, and vengeance as one girl's vow to save her sister takes her from the city's dark underbelly, through the glittering court of Louis XVII, and to the dawn of a new revolution.
Nina's character is inspired by Hugo's Éponine, which Kester Grant often describes as having "deserved more" than the ending she got in Les Misérables. Nina is dedicated to fighting for her sister throughout the novel -- the person of her sister changes, but her determination and loyalty to that girl never wavers. In a way, Nina reminds me of Amora from All the Stars and Teeth (Adalyn Grace - 2020). Nina often does things for the right reason, but those actions lead her down terrible paths and into dangerous arenas. I found that Nina was compelling throughout the entire novel. The emphasis on her backstory allowed readers to understand why she would be so driven to fight for Ettie as hard as she did, while also giving Grant the space to world build this retold Court of Miracles. One thing I do wish, though, is that Nina's age would have been elaborated on. The text never truly says, which I think is reflective of how poor people back in 19th century would have lived -- they wouldn't know their ages down to the number. I understand why it wasn't elaborated on, but it makes it harder to understand Nina as a character. In the beginning we know she's young, but how young? Because, when she ages by two years between different parts of the novel, would that put her at thirteen or sixteen? I feel like there's a big difference between those two ages. It's harder to tell, too, when the text itself doesn't give that away. Meaning, the writing still felt young and not as "young adult" as I've come to expect from this genre. This detail about Nina would have helped me rationalize other parts of her behavior, as well, such as her interactions with the love interests in the novel, why she faces the other Lords so boldly if she knows she's below them. I already related deeply to Nina's strong desire to protect her sister at all costs. I think I would have found myself relating to her more had I known how old she was, because I would have been able to empathize with her further. I'm hoping that in the future volumes of this series, Grant clears up the mystery behind this, so we can all further grow and empathize with such a driven and dedicated character as Nina. I have to say, I do think she finally got the ending she deserved.
I only knew the ending Hugo's Éponine got because I read up on Les Misérables before writing this review. I'm not as familiar with Les Misérables and The Jungle Book as I probably should be, but even I could see and appreciate the ways in which Grant combined these two pieces of literature as inspiration for her debut. People who have read/seen Les Misérables and The Jungle Book will definitely appreciate this book more, because they're able to recognize the references. That said, I'm not well acquainted with either and I greatly enjoyed the implementation of the elements I did recognize. I loved how this was a retelling of two wonderful stories from the perspective of a possibly often-forgotten about character. It gives the original version more perspective on that original character, and dimension to this new story, because it allowed Grant more creative freedom. This is a mystical story about the people our history and cultures tend to overlook and ignore -- Grant focuses on details that tells us that she sees this history, and is not shying away from it. Her characters are proud of who they are, and revel at living in Paris, despite all the challenges they face. Even though the characters are drawn heavily from Hugo's (most of the names are similar, as are placements and characteristics), Grant makes them her own by adopting first person point of view, and creating a whole system, The Court of Miracles (nickname-turned-protective-circle). Grant gives us great specificity in this world -- visually, we have a map, diagram, and set of laws, before we even start the text! The story itself reads very much like a fairytale or myth, much like the telling of The Starless Sea (Erin Morgenstern - 2019), but less literary. Grant also implements synesthesia, one of my favorite writing elements that instantly draws every reader into a created world. Grant draws heavy inspiration from the two famous texts, but she makes this entire world her own. It is mystical and an incredibly unique story she weaves, here.
This novel is described as a retelling, historical fiction, and fantasy fiction -- the way Grant blends all these genres is truly fascinating to me. It is historical fiction to us because the main text she draws from was written about a revolutionary France in a far-away century. The fantasy elements comes with her creation of the organized Court of Miracles. the genre blending is interesting to me because I think it takes an immense amount of focus and patience to craft a novel where one doesn't get lost in the history, the retelling, or the fantasy. It's a lot to balance, while also remembering to have a compelling plot with growing characters. Because this story takes on a very fairytale/myth-like tone, readers don't get to see the characters grow as much as they would in, say, a typical contemporary young-adult fiction novel. So, the novel is very plot-driven, and also focused on getting readers acquainted with the Court of Miracles and their Laws and customs. As the first novel in a trilogy, this book does a great job at explaining and exploring motive, constantly twisting the plot while keeping the story believable, and balancing the two stories that need to be retold.
One of the most enjoyable parts about this book was how the central conflict was not at all related to romance. Nina's character could not be less interested (maybe? she's not sure!) in romance. There are some boys who catch her attention (some more than a few times), but her main motivation and raison d'être is to save her sister(s). The little snippets of some potentially romantic moments are just the right amount for us to wonder who Nina might end up with, but don't overwhelm the plot or characters in any way. It's always refreshing when a young adult novel doesn't have a clear-cut "romance" subplot or central plot. There's definitely room for exploration as Nina grows older, once the series continues on, but I liked how Grant didn't dwell on any of that in the first novel. The first novel didn't need it. As an introduction to the Court of Miracles and a deep focus on giving Éponine the ending she deserved, there didn't need to be a huge "who will she end up with" factor. Kudos to Grant and the editors for telling such a wonderful story without falling onto the crutch of romance! Thank you for staying true to Nina's character, through and through.
The Court of Miracles is just the beginning -- Nina's and Ettie's adventures will continue in the sequel, which has yet to be titled. Stay tuned for more information from Kester Grant, and stay tuned for my future review!
The Court of Miracles is just the beginning -- Nina's and Ettie's adventures will continue in the sequel, which has yet to be titled. Stay tuned for more information from Kester Grant, and stay tuned for my future review!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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