The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine is one I'm reviewing for the secondary librarians. It caught my eye on the list, and, when I read the description blurb, I decided to go for it.
I have to be honest that it's a little slow and strange in the beginning. There's the whole Motherlake thing, with a queen called Valtia, who changes each time she dies. The main character, Elli, doesn't do anything - this includes getting dressed and walking - all in preparation for her to become the next Valtia. On top of all this, there are powers of fire and ice. Some of it gets a little graphic, especially when the queen is dying. Whew - it's a lot to take in!
It's soon discovered by the priests Elli might not be the Valtia everyone was waiting for. She must escape and finds herself on the outskirts. Enter the next character, Oskar, who helps Elli and takes her to his family. They live in a cave along with other families. Elli soon learns to survive and work hard. Meanwhile, the priests are still trying to locate the true Valtia - the survival of the people depends on the Valtia's balance of powers with fire and ice. There's plenty of action, and it does get intense in spots. I thought there was an odd fascination with nudity, but maybe that's just me. I mean, if you're going to play with fire, then there's a good chance clothes will burn off!
I did hang in there, and it does get good. In fact, it gets pretty great. I can't really say too much without giving it all away, but it does end with a bit of a cliffhanger possibly opening it up for a sequel - which I would definitely read. I would recommend for high school and mature middle schoolers because of the intensity, nudity, and slight sexual reference. Oskar and Elli do sleep together, but just for the ice power thing - apparently she can take some of it away without hurting herself - that's all I'm going to say because I don't want to ruin it for you!
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