Black creates a believable faery world informed by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with court politics and feasts. The drama and action are mostly there, in the faery world, where Kaye must discover everybody’s loyalties and try to stay alive. The main character, Kaye, is an engaging one - a misfit who turns out to be a changeling, and, like the title moorchild in McGraw’s book, goes underground to discover her roots. The plot of Tithe is fairly complex for its intended age range, 12-14, but I don’t think any girls (and this is most decidedly a girl’s book) will be deterred by that complexity. The sense of place is astute in both as well - Block with her Los Angeles dreamscape and Black with her polluted and cruel New Jersey. As in Block’s book, Tithe¹s characters seem realistic - they are teenagers with seedy, imperfect lives, who inhabit a world of disappointing parents and not fitting in. If you adored Weetzie Bat and wished it was longer, Tithe has a similar tone in many ways and is several times the length of Weetzie Bat. I was reminded strongly of Weetzie Bat, by Francesca Lia Block, and also of The Moorchild, by Eloise McGraw. Because Tithe, for all that it is new and unique, can be easily described with this kind of formula. I used to hate the formula reviews - you know, take one part Talking Heads, three parts They Might be Giants and stir and you have Hot New Band! - but now, after just finishing Tithe by Holly Black, I see the wisdom of such a method. (This review originally appeared in Mythprint 39:12 (#249) in December 2002.)
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