#BookReview: The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) by @LynetteNoni

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

From bestselling author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling YA fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, and Sabaa Tahir.

Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: This is the book I keep wanting to call it the poison healer (just insert a facepalm right here) But man was this book amazing.  I will say that this one was a little slower than what I was used to but overall it worked for the story.  I could not put it down and I can not wait to read the next one. 

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Kiva Meridan has spent most of her life as a prisoner of Zalindov, where the rulers of Wenderall's eight kingdoms send the worst of the worst. Imprisoned as a child with her father, she became the prison's healer and an informant to the ruthless warden, Rooke, who runs the facility. The uneasy rhythm of Kiva's life changes when the Rebel Queen is caught and sentenced to Trial by Ordeal, a punishment meted out to the most dangerous criminals. If the woman survives, she is innocent and will be let free-but no one has ever survived, and certainly not someone as deathly ill as the blind Rebel Queen. Kiva volunteers to take her place after receiving a coded message from her family: "Don't let her die. We are coming." Kiva is a largely unsympathetic character, and her romance with inmate Jaren is uncomfortable, mainly because she repeatedly tells him she isn't interested. There are a variety of red flags, including the casual treatment of guards assaulting and raping prisoners. Several side characters and plots feature uncomfortable ableism: a guard's magical prosthetic that functions better than her hand, the Rebel Queen's blindness and how her story concludes, the stigmatization of a guard with an STI, and a variety of ableist metaphors. Jaren has "honeyed" skin and blue eyes, Kiva has green eyes, and Rooke and some of the guards have dark skin. VERDICT An easy pass in favor of readalikes by Sabaa Tahir, Sarah J. Maas, and Tahereh Mafi.-Ness Shortley, Horton M.S., Pittsboro, NCα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Lynette Noni is currently Australia’s #1 YA author. After studying journalism, academic writing and human behavior at university, she finally ventured into the world of fiction. She is now a full-time writer and the bestselling author of the six-book young adult fantasy series, The Medoran Chronicles, as well as a second bestselling and award-winning series called Whisper. Lynette won the 2019 ABIA Award for Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year, along with the 2019 Gold Inky Award (Australia’s only teen choice book award). She is currently collaborating on a project with #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas.   

lynettenoni.com
Twitter and Instagram: @lynettenoni  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Clarion Books, Netgalley, Review, Young Adult