Loads of fun! A magical coming of age story about a girl in search of her father who finds much, much more
Matt is having a normal shift at the grocery store when a strange girl in a mask approaches him. It’s not uncommon to have a mask of course; it is the pandemic. But what lays beneath the mask is a surprise, something that would be clear to anyone that this isn’t a typical interaction.
Mira reveals herself as half-human, half-troll and says that she is trying to escape men who wish her harm. With no clue about what is really possible, Matt agrees to help her escape and then accompany her on her journey to find her father.
They enlist the help of Labelle, an elusive character with magical powers known to help those in need, and move through the Above, the Under, and the Fold. Blanc LaBelle and the Troll’s Daughter is a spellbinding adventure through adolescence that you won’t want to end.
The details accompanying each place mark Westbrook as a truly talented wordsmith. We’re taken to the Above—our typical human world—but also the Under, which is a place that houses everything from vampires to trolls to fairies and cyclopses. But he doesn’t only introduce us to these worlds, he invites us in. So often, he’s describing a new location only to go off course with the most fascinating details, incorporating magical elements or backstories that will make you wish the novel was made up of hundreds of side quests. The worldbuilding is so full.
The plot keeps you guessing too. As Mira and Matt work with LaBelle to find her father, they uncover bits and pieces that only confuse them. One of the coolest scenes in the book is when Mira conjures a mermaid and gets a glimpse of the past. Through this vision, Mira finds out that her mother met her father at a Halloween party above, but something makes him glow and become indistinguishable in the vision. So not only are they looking for a human in a world with billions of humans, they’re looking for a human who’s protected from showing up in premonitions, making him even harder to find. It’s all so mysterious and fun.
Blanc LaBelle is one of those characters you can’t quite understand but love to have around. An almost all-knowing being, he seems capable of nearly everything as he passes through worlds, lives through centuries, and conjures up spells with magic at every turn.
But Mira seems to only want him to play detective in this book, which, luckily, he is also quite good at. I spent the majority of my time trying to figure out if he’s truly trustworthy, a game that has likely been set up intentionally. Having lived so long, while also being such a mysterious figure in both worlds, I found myself more interested in figuring LaBelle out at times than I was in trying to find Mira’s father.
Lovers of magical stories will be entranced by this world. “Glamours” are spells that make magical beings and beasts appear human, or anything they’d like for that matter. As Matt is struggling to comprehend how some these grandiose stories have truth to them—that trolls and mermaids really do exist—the glamours take things to a whole new level. It makes both him and the reader question every person they ever come across, as well as the idea of what’s real and what isn’t.
The theme is true: beings are much more than their appearance. Matt is nothing but kind and helpful to Mira despite their differences. Some of the most grotesque-looking creatures end up being the kindest and most helpful.
“The problem is that hate is loud. You have to listen for love.”
Mira and Matt, both sixteen, hold the story up with their budding friendship. What starts as a bit of blind trust develops into something much more. After making his initial agreement, Matt stays by her side through circumstances he couldn’t have imagined before. He comes up against truly dangerous creatures and doesn’t falter. Their closeness is something you can feel. It’s a special experience watching them grow from strangers to best friends.
Mira, on the other hand, has much more at stake in her journey. She enlists LaBelle’s help because she desperately needs him. Her mother died just days before; if she isn’t claimed by her father, she’ll be forced to be a workhorse in her troll clan. As she moves through grief and feels alienated for being only half a troll, she’s able to find hope through her new friendships and the world beyond. Her courage is inspiring and her determination admirable.
This is one fun coming of age fantasy. Matt, Mira, and LaBelle are a team you’ll want plenty more of.
What did you think?