Title: Nameless Queen
Author:
Rebecca McLaughlin
Genre: Young
Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Dystopian
Publisher:
Crown Books For Young Readers
Pages: 352
Where Did I
Get: Courtesy of NetGalley and the Publisher
Book
Summary:
Everyone expected the king's daughter
would inherit the throne. No one expected me.
It shouldn't even be possible. I'm Nameless, a class of citizens so
disrespected, we don't even get names. Heck, dozens of us have been going
missing for months and no one seems to care.
But there's no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace
where the corridors are more dangerous the streets, though, how could I
possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don't?
BOOK
REVIEW:
One of the best books I’ve read in a
really long time. What I really like about this book is the unlikely heroine of
this book. Coin isn’t like any character that I’ve read in a really long time. Coin
is not what you call someone who starts off as likeable, but rather someone
that you come to understand her circumstances and tries her best to make due
with them.
Coin is someone who is Nameless. She
has no rights in the society in which she has grown up in. The Nameless are
people young and old who can’t hold jobs because they have no name or status. They
are the ones who survive on the streets which can be dangerous. They are also
starting to disappear and no one knows why or where they have gone. Coin is
scared because some of these people are her friends. The Nameless are her
friends. She also realizes that life isn’t getting any easier. We also learn
that there is a Nameless who calls himself Marcher and he is kind of a smuggler,
dealer of sorts that gets things done and makes deals if you need something for
a certain price. We learn that Marcher has all kinds of secrets. Yet Coin’s life
is going to get much more dangerous and complicated when someone leaves her a
little bit of a gift or a curse.
Someone gives her a mark and this
mark means a whole lot of trouble and danger. The mark/tattoo is that of a
crown. A Crown mean she is now the Queen and this puts Coin in a very vulnerable
and powerful situation. We also learn that Coin’s friend Hat has been taken. So
she is trying to find her friend and almost does, but then has to reveal she
has the crown. The Mark of the Crown just can’t be transferred to another
person without a battle or fight for it. It has to be earned in combat. So
hence they explain things to her about the Assassins festival. This is one
crazy situation.
Then we learned that the Kings daughter,
Esther is someone who is trying to help Coin, plus Coin Needs to take etiquette.
We learn that there are things that Coin can’t really expect. Yet she makes
some important discoveries about Magic, the Crown, Ester and herself. During
the course of the book, she learns what has been really happening to the city
and the kingdom. Also we learn that the Villain of the book is the person you really
least to expect.
The Villain of the book is the Old
Kings Bodyguard. She wants to rule because society has fallen apart and she has
made an Army of her own and they are the Nameless who have gone missing. She
justifies this by saying the Nameless she has under her are grateful because
they have gotten shelter and food and the promise of something that they haven’t
had, a chance to be something more. I found the Villains justification
interesting. She made some really good points.
Also Coin starts to form some real
relationships with both Esther or Glenquartz.
I found the development really interesting. Coin makes some mistakes but
both of these relationships show some growth and a trust that she has lacked
for some time. Esther tells her something from her memory and we learn that
both Esther and Coin are sisters. When they look at each other, they find that
they look a lot alike. So this means she was given to Marcher to raise and look
after. This also means that Coin has a name that was not told to her for a
reason.
So things get kind of crazy and weird
in this book and there was a lot of turns and twists in it that I wasn’t
expecting. I love that Coin was able to outsmart the villain and use her powers
and brains to find a new future for herself and those she cares about. Plus the
Nameless decided to go somewhere else on a boat. They are going to form a new city,
but some decided to stay.
I’m hoping that the Author will write
a sequel because this book was so good and had so many different things that I thoroughly
enjoyed.
Rating:
4.5 Hearts
