#BookReview: The Antidote by Shelley Sackier

Synopsis: Magic is not allowed, under any circumstances — even if it could save someone’s life. Instead, there are herbal remedies and traditional techniques that have been painstakingly recorded in lieu of using the mystical arts. Fee knows this, so she keeps her magic a secret.

Except her best friend, Xavi, is deathly ill. He’s also the crown prince. Saving him is important, not only for her, but for the entire kingdom.

Fee’s desperation to save her friend means she can barely contain the magic inside her. And after the tiniest of slips, Fee is thrust into a dark and secretive world that is as alluring as it is dangerous.

If she gives in, it could mean she can save Xavi. But it also means that those who wish to snuff out magic might just snuff her out in the process.



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 3 Stars
My Review: This one as it sits is ok but I felt like a lot of the time that I was missing information.  The characters were ok and the story as a whole wasn't bad.  But I just felt like this wasn't anything the rave about. 

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up{amp}mdash;When a sudden plague swept through Fireli, one of the four kingdoms of Aethusa, it left death, evacuations, and a decade of quarantine in its wake. Ophelia (Fee) and Prince Xavi were the only children left behind, and their close friendship sustained them through years of grief and isolation. Now an apprentice healer, Fee chafes at the restrictions on her life and at the daily antidote she must take, while Xavi's health is continuously precarious. When the quarantine lifts, both teens are eager for the new opportunities it brings: the chance to restore the kingdom of Fireli to its former glory and to reunite with Prince Rye, Xavi's brother and Fee's betrothed. But neither pursuit is without complications. This novel is bogged down by numerous over-the-top plot twists that include faked deaths, wrongful imprisonment, hidden identities, and forbidden romance, but weak characterization and forced dialogue take much of the excitement out of the drama. Overly stylized language and consistently abrupt scene endings create the feeling of an unfinished novel. VERDICT Not recommended. For magical fantasy during a plague, direct readers to Beth Revis's Give the Dark My Love.{amp}mdash;Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia  --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Shelley Sackier is the author of The Antidote, The Freemason's Daughter, and Dear Opl. She blogs at www.shelleysackier.com about food, family, and the folly that is life while living atop a mountain in the Blue Ridge. She also gives school presentations to illuminate the merits of embracing failure (just like NASA) and to further her campaign to erect monuments to all librarians.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

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Posted in: 3 Stars, Edelweiss, HarperTeen, Review, Young Adult