Review: Poison by Bridget Zinn

Title: Poison

Author: Bridget Zinn

Release Date: March 12, 2013

Pages: 288, Hardcover
Goodreads Rating: 3.93 stars
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Content Rating: G (A couple of chaste kisses and some fighting, but definitely appropriate for all YA and even MG audiences)

Summary from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

MY TAKE

Poison is a delightfully cute and light fantasy novel.  The book is published by Disney Hyperion, which makes complete sense because it fits right into their wheelhouse - I could easily see this as a Disney movie!  The book was the perfect diversion from some of the darker fantasy and dystopian novels that I read and I loved it! 

The story centers around Kyra, a young potions master who is on the run after attempting to murder her best friend, the princess (I won't spoil why, but she did have good reason).  Kyra believes that she has to finish what she started, so she enlists the help of a cute little tracking pig to help her find the princess (who has been hidden away since the assassination attempt) while simultaneously avoiding the guards (along with her ex-fiance).  Along the way, she meets up with Fred, a sweet and charming guy who complicates her life, but who she can't help but fall for!



Negatives:

• Not much.  As I said this is a light, fun novel.  So, if you're looking for something dark, serious or with more mature themes, this is not the book for you.  Some people might see this as a negative, but I like to switch things up a bit and read a fun novel every once in awhile.  That's just what this book was - fun!

What I loved:

• The humor.  I really enjoyed the fun banter between Kyra and Fred.  It often had me laughing out loud!  In general, I just loved Kyra's wry sense of humor and her reactions to the crazy situations that she finds herself in (crossing the lake in frilly underwear with a pig on her head - totally normal, right?).  I smiled through the whole book!
• The twists and turns.  There were quite a few twists in the story, which made it fun to read.  There were clues planted for each of the twists, but I definitely didn't have them all figured out (I hate it when I can see all the twists coming from a mile away).  While this was the type of book that you figured would end "happily ever after," it was still really fun getting there!
• A romance that didn't overpower the story.  While the romance was definitely a key ingredient in the book, it didn't take center stage and out-shine the rest of the story.  Instead, it was just one element in a book that had a lot of interesting plot elements going for it.  Yay!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, adventurous fantasy story.  It would be especially perfect for younger YA readers (but certainly not only for them!).  4.5/5 Stars.

One side-note: I was surprised and saddened to see that the author of this book actually died two years ago of cancer and never got to witness her book being published (at least not here on earth!).  She was a talented writer who would have had an amazing career ahead of her.  I'm so glad that her husband pursued her dreams for her and kept her legacy alive!