Mostly it's carnage of unknowns in sea and land battles from crossbow arrows, cannon fire, swords, knives, and magic, but two known characters are run through with swords, two are hit with arrows, and another burns alive. One sea captain swallows a poisonous glass bead to kill himself rather than be captured. Women are kidnapped and enslaved, others are drugged with the aim that they will do a man's bidding, and still more are experimented on with the same drugs of coercion. While she suffers from a painful drug withdrawal, a main character recalls being abused as a child with details of being locked in a basement, burned, and whipped.
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A few passionate kisses with groping and some clothing removed. A stag party in a brothel where men choose from a group of women and go off in corners.
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Scenes of social drinking, at festivals, parties, and bars, everything from cocktails to port, spiced cider, and wine. The main characters are in their late teens. A main character takes a drug that numbs her magic.
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Like Book 1, there's much food for thought on how difficult it is for women to claim their own power. There's a difference between power being "allowed" by established rules of society, whether it be those set by a male-dominated class system or a religious one, and power women claim for themselves on their own terms. In this story there are also men who feel entitled to a woman's power, and it's shown how dangerous and harmful this is. Also, working from within a system designed to exclude certain groups will not get the excluded heard—the system needs to change first.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Four main female characters share the spotlight: Matilde, Sayer, Aesa, and Fenlin or Fen. They all come from very different backgrounds, and all exhibit teamwork, courage, and perseverance as they are hunted and persecuted for their magic. They make it their mission to protect other girls and their country, even though so many citizens are prejudiced against them. Matilde, the society girl, grapples with new ideas of duty and sacrifice as she attempts to change the government from within and finds it impossible. Sayer is a mentor and protector to her sister and shows mercy to the father who tried to exploit them. Aesa owns her power and decides not to hide it from a father who shames her for it. Fenlin, an orphan, a gang boss, and an accomplished thief, makes the biggest transformation, suffering through a withdrawal of a drug that numbed her to her magic and abuse in her past. She realizes she doesn't have to suffer alone and begins to rely on the other Fyrebirds.
Diverse Representations
some
Women's rights and strong female characters discovering and wielding their own power are at the center of the series. Two of the main female characters are in love with each other and a male minor character is engaged to another man. While most of the characters are White, a male love interest is described as dark-skinned and other minor characters have black and brown skin. The four main characters come from every defined class in this fantasy world and every kind of family background: multi-generational households, single-parent households, orphanages, mansions, city slums, rural seaside homes.
Dissects the agency and freedoms women are denied in a patriarchal and misogynistic society and in a society plagued by religious extremism and oppression. This encourages readers to think about women in this power struggle throughout history and around the world today. Also, characters in this story discover that their history has been rewritten or covered up to favor male-centric lore. Readers can also look to our own history for instances of this practice. Some of the magic is based on the principles of the classical elements—air, wind, water, earth—a concept about the nature of the Earth that dates back to ancient civilizations around the world.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Fyrebirds is the final book in an exciting fantasy duology that began with Nightbirds by author Kate J. Armstrong. If you're looking for a series to discuss with high school girls especially, look no further. The main characters, four young women from diverse backgrounds, wield their magic in a country that fears and outlaws it. There's so much food for thought on how difficult it is for women to claim their power on their own terms. Expect some drinking, wine and spirits, especially at social gatherings; some passionate kissing from straight and lesbian couples; very little swearing ("ten hells," "whore," "bastard"); and more battle violence than Nightbirds. Two known characters are run through with swords, two are hit with arrows, and another burns alive. One sea captain swallows a poisonous glass bead to kill himself rather than be captured. Women are kidnapped and enslaved, others are drugged with the aim that they will do a man's bidding, and still more are experimented on with the same drugs of coercion. While she suffers from a painful drug withdrawal, a main character recalls being abused as a child with details of being locked in a basement, burned, and whipped. Through her trials, she realizes she doesn't have to suffer alone and begins to rely on the other main characters.
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What's the Story?
In FYREBIRDS: NIGHTBIRDS, BOOK 2, Matilde and the other Fyrebirds, Sayer, Aesa, and Fenlin, have gone their separate ways after the flooding of the Underground where those with magical powers hid from persecution. Now that the secret is out to more than just Simta's upper crust, girls with magic are in more danger than ever of being exploited or worse. Matilde tries to protect them by staying in the palace and advocating for change – only no one will listen. Aesa travels back to her remote island home after she's outed in Simta as the powerful Storm Witch. She may be safe there for a time, but she misses her fellow Fyrebirds and worries about their safety. Sayer and Fenlin, meanwhile, infiltrate parties where men prey on magic girls and they round up who they can. In the process they uncover a new street drug called Sugar that compels a girl with magic to do a man's bidding for a day. They are determined to find the source of this drug before all the magic girls in Simta are enslaved by it.
Empowering duology finale digs more deeply into themes of women and power while delivering three equally enthralling romantic storylines and battle excitement, by land and by sea. It's hard to think of a more well-rounded fantasy and this is author Kate J. Armstrong's first series. Wow. And her world-building—which includes kingdoms, languages, a religion, and magic past and present—is rich and detailed without ever getting in the way of the story. Wow again.
What will stick with many readers long after they've finished Fyrebirds is the bond among the four main characters. There's one profound scene with Fenlin as she painfully purges the anti-magic drug from her system while flashing back to an abusive childhood. She realizes that she doesn't have to suffer alone, and she doesn't any longer. The main characters empower each other, not just by holding hands and setting the warring world on fire with their uber-strong magic, but also through a shared suffering and healing as they shoulder the burdens of all-too-familiar oppression together.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about female vs. male power in Fyrebirds. In Chapter 13, Matilde ponders a painting of a god in the palace. "[It] features Syme, holding his traditional sheaf of wheat aloft. How smug the man looks in his gold robes: Clearly no one has ever found his power threatening, or questioned whether he should have it at all." How do these thoughts relate to Matilde's struggles? How do they relate to struggles of girls and women in today's world?
One of the most powerful moments in the book involves Fenlin as she realizes she doesn't need to suffer alone. How do the Fyrebirds show empathy and support each other and others like them? How do they show compassion for a country that ostracizes them? How are empathy and compassion on their own powerful forces?
A question especially for those who identify as female: How do you navigate the world while harnessing and safekeeping your own power -- in a less magical sense, identified as a strong sense of self and self-driven purpose?
Available on:
Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
August 28, 2024
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