The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae is the story of a good girl doing one bad thing and finding herself reaping the unimaginable consequences of the mistake.
Zahru is a Whisperer, someone who can communicate with animals. In Orkene, this is the lowliest type of magic, which means Zahru will never have the chance to rise above her station or experience any of the adventures she hears others talk about. In an effort to do one amazing thing in her life, Zahru sneaks into a restricted party celebrating the “Crossing,” a death-defying desert race invoked by Orkena’s ruler to pit his heirs against each other in order to name the winner his heir. When Zahru is caught in a power play between two princes, she is named the human sacrifice that will be offered by the winning heir at the end of the race.
There was a lot I liked about this story. Zahru was a nice kind of girl who didn’t scream “woman empowerment,” but simply felt her life was worthwhile even though she wasn’t anything extraordinary. There is a lot of action throughout the book, but that’s expected because of the premise, which is a race between rival siblings, and the dangers that naturally occur in a desert. Of course, there is the addition of a human sacrifice element, and that always provides tension.
Overall, I think this story would appeal to readers of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Razorbill
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 63 religious exclamations; 1 mild obscenity; 2 derogatory names.
Violence/Gore: Many instances of violence and gore, including but not limited to: Report of human sacrifice; threats of violence and/or death; two male characters argue; a girl is forcibly removed from a room; report of brothers hating each other; a character is chosen to escort a team into the desert for a competition; a man locks a girl in the room with him; a father and son verbally fight; a character is caught by the wrist and cut with a knife; a character uses magic during a violent swordfight and nearly fatally wounds another character; a character is named as a sacrifice; a character is betrayed; character reports getting cut by a man; a character is be-spelled to prevent her running away; a horse is a firespinner, able to burn people with its flesh; characters steal a magical horse; a fire is started, a character is burned and a horse is injured; a girl falls off a horse; a character accuses someone of betraying her; a character regrets the injuries he caused to his brother; characters commit treason to save someone; characters are attacked, threatened with knives, and a character is bound while a man fights off five other attackers; a man is shot and killed; report of a man torturing another for information; report of citizens slaughtered for food and water; report of a mining town being destroyed; a creature is turned out into the dessert and implied to eat humans; a character is tortured; characters are ambushed by others, retaliate with magic, and a character is wounded; report of a character’s tongue getting cut out; in an extended scene, characters are hunted and drawn into a fight, and while trying to escape a character shoots at a magical creature, a horse is wounded by a cheetah and throws its rider, a character is shot with an arrow and left for dead, while another character is captured by the enemy; a character uses animal skins to change shape; a character is forced to use his healing abilities to the point of death; a character is knocked out; a man’s throat is ripped out; a girl is held by the wrists; a character reports being bullied by his siblings as a child, with implication that his father would have turned him out had he not manifested magical abilities; report of a character being cursed; a girl knocks a man out with poison; characters are trapped in a sandstorm; a character cannot escape being a sacrifice; a sacrificial blade demands blood; report of someone dying; characters fight each other with swords, characters are hemmed in by fire, and a man is repeatedly wounded by another swordsman; a man is badly injured and another man steps forward to kill him; a character threatens suicide; a character lightly cuts her wrist; a character is stabbed, with some description of the pain; a character is trapped by a monster; a village is burned and bodies clog a river; a character fears the loss of her family; a character uses another to commit suicide.
Sex/Nudity: There are a few instances of sex and nudity. Most notable are: Report of a female shopkeeper having a wife; a girl strips to put on a dress; characters occasionally flirt (usually male and female); a girl is forcibly bathed by others females; a dress leave’s a girl’s stomach bare; a man examines a girl’s exposed midriff; mention of a boy only wanting to see someone naked; characters discuss love affairs and “locking lips” with others; a girl lowers her neckline in order to provide a better distraction; a girl implies innuendo by asking a boy if riding together under the stars pertained to just horses; report of a character being illegitimate; a man runs a hand down a girl’s hips while searching for weapons; a character thinks a boy and girl did something more than sleep last night; a character suggests a woman seduce a man; a man and a woman kiss, and start to get more intimate (Reviewer skipped this section so unclear of level of detail or extent); a character is described as being neither man nor woman; a character is confronted by a genderless person; characters are in love; report of a man having a boyfriend.
Mature Subject Matter:
Socioeconomic conflicts; religious conflicts; death of a family member; considered suicide; completed suicide; threat of war; verbal and emotional child abuse; bullying; gender/sex identity issues; human sacrifice; affairs.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
A girl drinks; a girl would like to throw a glass of wine in someone’s face; a character toasts her friends; report of a wine spill; a character states she doesn’t drink; characters get drunk; a girl is pressured to keep drinking wine until she gets drunk; a man asks a girl if she is drunk; mention of a wine buzz; characters are offered mead; characters talk about drinks; characters joke about buying wine and throwing it in an ex’s face; character wants to sit in a crowded tavern telling stories; characters pull out flasks of wine; a character vomits after overdrinking and wakes the next day with a hangover.
