«If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.»
—Holly Black, The Cruel Prince
Set in the beautiful and dark world of Faerieland, Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince follows the story of Jude, a seventeen year old girl who is sick of the bad treatment she receives because she’s mortal. But, how did a mere mortal girl wind up in Faerie? When she was seven years old, Jude’s parents were both murdered by a faerie who then took her and her two sisters to the dangerous land that awaited them. Jude’s oldest sister is a faerie, and also the reason why they were taken to Faerieland. Fast forward ten years, and Jude has grown accustomed to the whimsical reality that now surrounds her, as well as the cruelty she has to endure. This drives her to crave power over those who have wronged her, these people being Cardan, the youngest and cruelest of the princes of Faerie, and his group of wicked friends. Fast-paced and action-packed, The Cruel Prince has some twists and turns that will have you in awe of what Jude is willing to do for some power.
It’s no secret that The Cruel Prince is one of the most popular young adult novels out there, which made me feel a bit nervous going in because I feared I wouldn’t enjoy it. However, I now understand why there is such a big hype surrounding this series. The writing is whimsical and fitting of a book set in Faerie. It is fast paced but not rushed, so all the events flow nicely throughout the novel. I have to admit that I felt the book was a bit slow during the first half. However, once you hit that halfway point, The Cruel Prince becomes impossible to put down. The dialogue is cleverly phrased, which helps create foreshadowing and hints at plot twists that occur further in the novel. This really helped the plot twists make sense, and not seem like something that popped out of thin air with no previous hints. Something that truly charmed me were the morally gray characters, specifically Jude. Jude is set up to be an untrustworthy and unlikeable narrator: she’s power hungry, she manipulates, and she lies. Yet, she manages to be so clever when making her way through Faerie that you can’t help but enjoy her character. As someone who enjoys reading from unreliable narrators, I can truly say that Jude is one of my new favorites. Overall, The Cruel Prince is a beautifully structured story with characters that you can’t help but enjoy reading about. If you’re skeptical because of the hype, as I initially was, I’d tell you to give it a chance because it truly is worth the read. Plus, there is some fabulous fan art out there for these books that you don’t want to miss out on.
Lyrical Literature 