I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber Published by Thomas Nelson on March 19, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 314
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads
The task is simple: don a disguise. Survive the Labyrinth. Best the boys.
In a thrilling new fantasy from the bestselling author of the Storm Siren Trilogy, one girl makes a stand against society and enters a world made exclusively for boys.
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port have received a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. The poorer residents look to see if their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women train in wifely duties and men pursue collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone is ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the deadly maze.
Welcome to the Labyrinth.
I usually steer clear of YA fantasies, not because I don’t like their premise, but because I am usually not a fan of their execution. This is one such case.
The writing style is awkward and clunky. The sentences are difficult to understand and rely on cliches. This is also reflected in the dialogue, which, for some strange reason, is modern. For a novel with such a gothic Victorian atmosphere, the dialogues and terminology did not fit the vibe. It was a jarring experience. The worldbuilding in general is strange. I am all for weird imaginings, but there needs to be some type of structure. It made it difficult to make sense of everything.
It takes a long time for the story to get going. Rhen doesn’t enter the labyrinth until the halfway point in the story. And there isn’t much happening in the beginning. The author mainly focuses on repetitively describing how much injustice exists in this world. It felt like getting hit on the head with a hammer – multiple times. The ham-handedness took away any sympathy I could muster for the characters and the situation.
I also didn’t care for Rhen. Sure, she has a strong spirit. I liked that she was passionate about science. But she was made up of stereotypical tropes so there was nothing unique about her.
The entire concept of a disguise was a failure. Rhen and her friend just cut their hair, pin it up, and wear boy clothes. That’s it. The absolute lack of effort is a joke; it’s lazy and I do expect more when the entire premise is based on gender inequality.
The plot itself was confusing. The labyrinth became a side-plot while the science behind the plague took center stage. And in the end, there was no point to the labyrinth anyways! I struggled to make sense of everything if I’m being completely honest.
Now, I know all YA fantasy novels aren’t like this. I have read some very good ones. But the juvenile nature of this one frustrated me to no end. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything positive to say. Suffice to say, I’m not recommending this novel to anyone.
