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Monsters Born and Made
Monsters Born and Made | Tanvi Berwah
1 post | 3 read | 6 to read
*A BookRiot Must-Read South Asian Book of 2022* She grew up battling the monsters that live in the black seas, but it couldn't prepare her to face the cunning cruelty of the ruling elite. Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Fable, this South Asian-inspired fantasy is a gripping debut about the power of the elite, the price of glory, and one girl's chance to change it all. Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve. In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers—the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others—if they're lucky—survive. When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race. But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against competitors—including her ex-boyfriend—who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. As a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose—her life or her sister's—before the whole island burns. Perfect for fans of: Dystopian Fantasy Sea Monsters Exes-to-Rivals-to-? Golden Boy x Pariah Deadly Competition Rebellion Angsty Teenagers Female Friendship Praise for Tanvi Berwah: "A mesmerizing account of love, loss, and revenge, entwined with a mythic family history. It's all spikes and rising oddity, a sharp-toothed thing that nods to Helen Oyeyemi and Kelly Link, but does its own thing."—Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood
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Monsters Born and Made | Tanvi Berwah
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This YA sure debut has more of a Spartacus-vibe than the South-Asian inspiration advertised, but it makes for an exciting and inventive read. Koral and her family live at the outskirts of their caste society between the Landers who rule with their wealth and the rebels, renters and poor. They hunt and train the maristags who pull the chariots for the grand Glory Race. But Koral‘s choices box her into having no option other than to race to win!