Publishers Weekly
08/01/2022
Berwah fuses a South Asian–inspired caste system with elements of classical mythology in this high-stakes debut. Sixteen-year-old Koral’s island home, Sollonia, is divided into two segments: the lower-caste Renters and the upper-caste Landers. As Renters, Koral, her level-headed older brother Emrik, and her younger sister Liria, whose asthma limits her mobility, have few options in life. To pay for Liria’s medicine, Koral and Emrik risk their lives daily to capture and breed dangerous maristags—bright green, amphibious monsters who dwell in the dark waters surrounding the island—which they then sell to Landers. Maristags are needed for the Glory Race, a ruthless chariot competition whose winning champion earns a lifetime of gold and glory. Renters can’t enter the competition, but when the last maristag gets loose, increasing her family’s debt and imperiling Liria’s health, Koral resolves to enter, win, and clear their dues. As she schemes her way through the race, she must face down elite opponents—and rebels from her own caste determined to see her fail. Though familiar dystopian worldbuilding and tropes at times constrain the narrative, fluid prose and a breakneck pace ensures a wild ride from start to finish. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Monsters Born and Made takes well-beloved YA tropes and turns them on their heads, creating an action-packed rallying cry against oppression and a riveting tale of one girl’s desperation to survive no matter the odds." — Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
"An exhilarating race of willpower and defiance, set on an utterly unique world filled with glorious monsters." — Xiran Jay Zhao, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Iron Widow
"Berwah builds excitement with her well-crafted characters and storyline. Her world building is superb, and masterfully weaves in elements of the South Asian caste system. This book will leave readers eagerly awaiting a sequel" — Youth Services Book Review, STARRED review
"Berwah’s worldbuilding is intense, depicting a cruel society in which the power-hungry elite are just as monstrous as the terrifying oceanic beasts…for dystopian fantasy fans seeking something fresh and savage" — Kirkus
"Both a brilliant competition story about a girl facing down impossible obstacles and a skillful critique of the society that created them, Monsters Born and Made will leave you breathless and desperate for more." — Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi
"A gripping tale of struggle and sacrifice" — Lightspeed Magazine
"Fluid prose and a breakneck pace ensures a wild ride from start to finish." — Publishers Weekly
"Berwah's YA debut thrusts readers into a chilling world where sea creatures aren't the only monsters to fear" — Booklist
"In this heart wrenching tale of one girl's fight for survival, Berwah skillfully tears apart humanity's mask, revealing brutal truths about the monstrosities that lay within. An epic, page-turning debut by a brilliant new author!" — June CL Tan, author of Jade Fire Gold
"The South-Asian inspired setting is the true draw here... Koral is earnest and deeply well-intentioned... grim but compelling" — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Readers familiar with YA-dystopias will be at home here, among monsters who are creatures—and the human monsters who drive systems of inequality and oppression." — Paste
"I would recommend this to anyone looking for a cool, wild read!" — Kids' Book Buzz
New York Times bestselling author Vaishnavi Patel
Both a brilliant competition story about a girl facing down impossible obstacles and a skillful critique of the society that created them, Monsters Born and Made will leave you breathless and desperate for more.”
School Library Journal
09/01/2022
Gr 8 Up—In this South Asian—inspired fantasy novel, 16-year-old Koral finds herself with many enemies. The world she lives in contains two main castes—the Landers are wealthy, while the Renters are poor. Koral belongs to the Hunters, a subcaste that everyone looks down on. Koral's family has hunted maristag for generations so that the Landers can use them to participate in the Glory Race. Liria, Koral's sister, is sick and the family cannot afford her medicine. Koral's father is harsh and does not seem to take care of his family, leaving it to Koral and her brother, Emrik. Koral offends everyone, even people at the black market, so her only choice is to enter the Glory Race and win against those who have trained their whole lives. Hunters are not allowed to enter the race, so when Koral shows up, she has a target on her back—but it turns out a group called Noah's Ark is just as dangerous. This book will instantly remind readers of The Hunger Games and Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. It never sets itself apart from those classics, however. Koral isn't a heroine that readers genuinely get to know and root for, and with that missing component, the story falls short. VERDICT Overall, this is not a necessary purchase for libraries.—Michelle Lettus
Kirkus Reviews
2022-05-25
A young woman defies the caste system by entering a competition reserved for the elite.
In Sollonia, a world where the line between upper-caste Landers and lower-caste Renters is strictly defined, Koral’s family is condemned to fall in between. As a Hunter, a member of a Renter subcaste, she captures and trains maristags—deadly, temperamental sea monsters—for Landers participating in the Glory Race, a lethal chariot competition in which only one Champion is crowned. Forced to serve Landers but shunned by Renters as sellouts, her family’s crippling debt worsens when they fail to capture a maristag and can’t afford the medicine for Koral’s ailing younger sister. Driven by desperation and rage, Koral risks it all to sneak into the Glory Race. While other competitors have spent their lives training, Koral must rely on pure grit and her knowledge of maristags to stand a chance of surviving and saving her family. The Landers are determined to destroy her, but the Freedom’s Ark, a fractious and riotous band of rebels, may prove to be her downfall. Berwah’s worldbuilding is intense, depicting a cruel society in which the power-hungry elite are just as monstrous as the terrifying oceanic beasts. Readers will feel the rawness of Koral’s suffering, beg for a reprieve for her, and question how she can possibly still be alive after being ridiculed, chased, and attacked at every turn. Characters are diverse in physical appearance.
For dystopian fantasy fans seeking something fresh and savage. (Fantasy. 12-18)
