What Monstrous Gods

Gr 9 Up–All Lia Kurinava asks for her 17th birthday is for Mother Una’s permission to enter the briar that surrounds the royal palace and kill the sorcerer, Ruven. Five hundred years ago, Ruven cast a spell on the royal family and put the whole palace to sleep. By doing so, he silenced Runakhia’s gods and ended the age of saints. Lia, adopted by the Convent of St. Eruvaun after her family died of the plague, has grown up worshiping Nin-Anna, one of Runakhia’s eight gods, and fully accepts her destiny to break Ruven’s curse. She successfully kills Ruven and wakes Queen Imvada and her children, Princess Varia and Prince Araunn. Lia, haunted by Ruven’s ghost, joins the Prince and Princess on their tour to reawaken the gods and learns some unsettling truths about the old gods on the journey. Lia finds herself caught between her devotion to the gods, the political machinations of Queen Imvada, and her growing feelings for Ruven.