Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Abstract

Reviewed by: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Levenseller, Tricia Warrior of the Wild. Feiwel, 2019 [336p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-250-18994-3 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-250-18995-0 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10 Brought up by her warrior father to follow in his footsteps as leader of their village, eighteen-year-old Rasmira is a master with the axe, but when she fails the trial to prove her worth to her people she is banished. The only way she can return is by completing her “mattugr,” the task the village has charged her with: killing the god that demands debilitating annual tributes from them. Out in the wild, Rasmira finds two boys, Iric and Soren, who have also been expelled from their village and each given their own mission to complete; they reluctantly band together to complete the three tasks, but the forest has its own dangers and their first true challenge is to just stay alive. There’s a mythological feel to the mattugrs—one boy must kill and decapitate a giant water beast, the other must pluck a feather from a deadly bird, and Rasmira has to take the life of an immortal being. The grand scale of those efforts is evenly tempered by the very real humanity of the trio, with Rasmira struggling with her identity as a warrior, leader, and woman, Iric pining for the lover he was forced to leave behind, and Soren dealing with his guilt over getting Iric into this situation in the first place. Witty banter brings levity, and of course Rasmira finds romance with one of the boys, but the real gratification lies in Rasmira’s transformation from broken, betrayed, girl to resourceful, confident victor. Her final clash with the god is heart pounding, and her triumph in front of her village and father is satisfyingly righteous. Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois