The True Queen

Gr 8 Up—In this conclusion to The Imposter Queen and The Cursed Queen, the Krigere warriors head toward Kupari to make a more permanent home for themselves. Despite being raised Krigere, Ansa (love interest of chieftain Thyra) now understands she was born Kupari and inherited the explosive magical powers of the Kupari queen, or Valtia. Elli, whose own magical powers are limited to amplification and negation, currently sits the Kupari throne as an "impostor" Valtia until she can find the true queen. At the same time, violent earthquakes and general unsteadiness among magic-wielders are spreading panic in Kupari, and a renegade group of Krigere are harboring a power-hungry, magic-wielding Kupari priest. The worlds of the first two books finally collide with each other. A suspenseful plot is punctuated by engaging action and battle scenes, as the perspective switches between Elli and Ansa. The magic of the enraged Kupari land shapes the plot heavily, but its true "logic" ("the give and take of magic and blood and earth") is never satisfyingly explained. The land's suddenly apparent desire for human blood in addition to copper feels a bit arbitrary, and the deaths of two characters feel engineered to bring their respective grieving lovers together. Nevertheless, this final clashing of the communities explored in the previous installments is well executed and engrossing.