Legendborn -- Tracy Deonn, Hardcover

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC-Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape--until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called "Legendborn" students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a "Merlin" and who attempts--and fails--to wipe Bree's memory of everything she saw.

The mage's failure unlocks Bree's own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there's more to her mother's death than what's on the police report, she'll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society's secrets--and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur's knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she'll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down--or join the fight.

Author: Tracy Deonn
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 09/15/2020
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.48lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.70d
ISBN: 9781534441606
Age Range: 14-17

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.2
Point Value: 24
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 509875 / Legendborn

Award: John Steptoe New Talent Award - Winner

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2020 pg. 65
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2020
Publishers Weekly 08/03/2020
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2020

About the Author
Tracy Deonn is the New York Times bestselling and Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winning author of Legendborn, and a second-generation fangirl. She grew up in central North Carolina, where she devoured fantasy books and Southern food in equal measure. After earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in communication and performance studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tracy worked in live theater, video game production, and K-12 education. When she's not writing, Tracy speaks on panels at science fiction and fantasy conventions, reads fanfic, arranges puppy playdates, and keeps an eye out for ginger-flavored everything. She can be found on Twitter at @TracyDeonn and at TracyDeonn.com.