The Orphan Queen (Orphan Queen Series #1)

by Jodi Meadows

Overview

An epic fantasy filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of My Plain Jane, perfect for fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

When Princess Wilhelmina was a child, the Indigo Kingdom invaded her homeland. Ten years later, Wil and the other noble children who escaped are ready to fight back and reclaim Wil’s throne. To do so, Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom palace with hopes of gathering information that will help them succeed.

But Wil has a secret—one that could change everything. Although magic has been illegal for a century, she knows her ability could help her save her kingdom. But magic creates wraith, and the deadly stuff is moving closer and destroying the land.

And if the vigilante Black Knife catches her using magic, she may disappear like all the others....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062317384
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Series:	Orphan Queen Series , #1
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

The Lady Janies are made up of New York Times bestselling authors Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows. They first met in 2012, when their publishers sent them on a book tour together, and they hit it off so well they decided to write My Lady Jane so they could go on book tours together all the time. Between the three of them they’ve written more than twenty published novels, a bunch of novellas, a handful of short stories, and a couple of really bad poems. They’re friends. They’re writers. They’re fixing history by rewriting one sad story at a time. Learn more at ladyjanies.com. 

Editorial Reviews

02/23/2015
First in a fantasy duology, this tale of a young royal fighting to retake her country from invaders intertwines espionage, secret identities, a debate on the ethics of violence, and the threat of Wraith, a supernatural force that seeks to overwhelm conquered and conquerors alike. A hypercompetent fighter, forger, and spy, 17-year-old Wil keeps her magical abilities secret, since magic has been banned as the cause of the relentless wave of Wraith that has destroyed neighboring kingdoms, turning harmless animals into devouring monsters and perverting nature wherever it spreads. Wil's more mundane transgressions of the Indigo Kingdom's law are enough to attract the attention of a mysterious vigilante, Black Knife. Wil increasingly finds herself disagreeing with her own leader, the ruthless Patrick, and coming to trust Black Knife. Though Black Knife's identity proves unsurprising, along with the outcomes of Wil's interpersonal relationships, Meadows (the Incarnate trilogy) delivers a powerful coming-of-age story as Wil discovers that there are "lines will not cross, not even to take the vermillion throne." A cliffhanger sets up the concluding volume. Ages 13–up. Agent: Lauren MacLeod, Strothman Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

THE ORPHAN QUEEN casts its spell from the first page. Exquisite, captivating and romantic —Jodi Meadows’s world forbids magic, but THE ORPHAN QUEEN is brimming with it. I loved this book!

Danielle Paige

Meadows deftly juggles a multitude of plot points here, managing to link each element to Wil’s growth as a character. A cliffhanger ending puts a beloved character’s life in peril, ensuring both a sequel and readers’ clamoring for it.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hidden identities, allusions to environmental concerns, a clever heroine with a worthy potential love interest, and some monster-mashing fight scenes elevate this romantic series opener. A cliff-hanger ending will have many readers exclaiming aloud their impatience at having to wait for the sequel.

Booklist

12/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—Wilhelmina—more frequently known as Wil—is a princess. However, she's a royal who's more used to stealing food than curtsying in a palace. Wil's homeland of Aecor was conquered 10 years earlier by the Indigo Kingdom and Wil and a band of other orphaned children of Aecor nobility have been living secretly as refugees in Skyvale, the capital of the Indigo Kingdom. The teen and the other refugees have plans to take back their home by infiltrating the palace. As Wilhelmina's mission inside the palace proceeds, it is complicated not just by her secret ability to practice magic—which has been forbidden for almost a century—but also by her connection to the vigilante Black Knife, a masked figure who helps the poor and the weak in the streets of Skyvale. Fans of Katniss and the Sisters of St. Mortain from Robin LaFevers's "His Fair Assassin" series (Houghton Harcourt) and other strong, vengeful female heroines will root for Wil, as she plots revolution, struggles with her conflicted feelings for Black Knife, and discovers more about wraith, the toxic by-product of magic. Although this series opener starts off with poorly executed exposition to provide the necessary background, the plot quickly picks up pace, and the highlights of this novel are the subtle lessons in the sacrifices and responsibilities of leadership, as well as the unique way in which magic use and wraith are echoes of our own world's debate about environmental justice.—Evelyn Khoo Schwartz, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

School Library Journal

2014-12-22
A displaced teenage queen acts as a thief, spy and vigilante while plotting to reclaim her throne.The One-Night War stole the lives of Princess Wilhelmina Korte's parents and her kingdom, Aecor. Ten years later, in Skyvale, capital of the conquering Indigo Kingdom, Wil and her band of ragamuffin teens, the Ospreys, are attacked by glowmen—humans corrupted by wraith, the noxious supposed residue of magic, which is forbidden—and survive only with the help of vigilante Black Knife. Patrick, leader of the Ospreys, sends Wil and her friend Melanie to the Skyvale Palace as spies. There, Wil has an understandable but frustratingly difficult time controlling her anger—especially toward ailing King Terrell and aloof Prince Tobiah—even under threat of exposure. Wil reconnects with Black Knife—known for targeting thieves and magic users—and a bond slowly builds, despite Wil's magical abilities. Some may guess Black Knife's identity, but that doesn't diminish the intensity of the inevitable kissing scene. What's not so obvious is the connection between Wil's magic and the encroaching wraith; readers will have to wait for that. The story is not perfect. It's pushing credulity that Patrick, so young himself, trained the Ospreys so well, and problems sometimes resolve rather simply. Still, solid worldbuilding, interesting characters and just enough romance make this an enjoyable read. Despite what's possibly the most agonizing cliffhanger since Catching Fire, genre fans will find it worth their time. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

Hidden identities, allusions to environmental concerns, a clever heroine with a worthy potential love interest, and some monster-mashing fight scenes elevate this romantic series opener. A cliff-hanger ending will have many readers exclaiming aloud their impatience at having to wait for the sequel. — Booklist

Fans of Katniss and the Sisters of St. Mortain from Robin LaFevers’s “His Fair Assassin” series and other strong, vengeful female heroines will root for Wil. — School Library Journal

Meadows delivers a powerful coming-of-age story. — Publishers Weekly

Solid worldbuilding, interesting characters and just enough romance make this an enjoyable read. — Kirkus Reviews

Meadows deftly juggles a multitude of plot points here, managing to link each element to Wil’s growth as a character. A cliffhanger ending puts a beloved character’s life in peril, ensuring both a sequel and readers’ clamoring for it. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

One of the most compelling fantasies I’ve ever read. Fans of strong heroines, secret identities, and terrifyingly dangerous magic should put Jodi Meadows at the top of their ‘to read’ lists. — C.J. Redwine, author of the Defiance trilogy

THE ORPHAN QUEEN casts its spell from the first page. Exquisite, captivating and romantic —Jodi Meadows’s world forbids magic, but THE ORPHAN QUEEN is brimming with it. I loved this book! — Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die

From the Publisher

Meadows deftly juggles a multitude of plot points here, managing to link each element to Wil’s growth as a character. A cliffhanger ending puts a beloved character’s life in peril, ensuring both a sequel and readers’ clamoring for it.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

One of the most compelling fantasies I’ve ever read. Fans of strong heroines, secret identities, and terrifyingly dangerous magic should put Jodi Meadows at the top of their ‘to read’ lists.

C.J. Redwine

Hidden identities, allusions to environmental concerns, a clever heroine with a worthy potential love interest, and some monster-mashing fight scenes elevate this romantic series opener. A cliff-hanger ending will have many readers exclaiming aloud their impatience at having to wait for the sequel.

Booklist