We are hurting. We are angry. We are despised by our own rulers. And we are dying!
Contest of Queens
by Jordan H. Bartlett
Genre: YA Fantasy
About: In a world where women rule, a young prince knows his role in life will be to advise the future queen. But there's so much he doesn't understand about his Queendom. Searching for adventure and answers, he befriends a young girl from the Lower Realms by sending out secret letters. It's a correspondence that has the power to bridge the divide between the Upper and Lower Realms - or to break it altogether.
Thoughts
I love that the story begins as middle grade with Jacs and Connor aged thirteen and fourteen years old, both wide-eyed and looking for adventure. This tone of innocence and excitement reminded me so much of entering the world of Harry Potter and, like that series, it shifts into young adult as our characters get older and the stakes get higher - the stakes in this story being the Queendom, which is being torn apart by mistrust and bitter class divides.
I really liked how the issues in the Queendom were brought up through the characters. Early on you have Connor's frustrations with the matriarchal system that ridicules his dream of becoming a knight. You also have Jacs being bullied by her peers in the Lower Realms for wanting to become more educated. There's so much anger and deep-rooted stereotypes between the two realms that the simple friendship of one Upperite citizen and one Lowerite citizen doesn't seem nearly enough to overcome these divides.
And it wouldn't be, if it had been left in Connor's hands. But Jacs doesn't rely on friendship alone. Her inventiveness and determination eventually forces the Upper Realm to see her - and hear her. The issues are complex and can't be solved by one person's voice alone, but Jacs becomes such a strong symbol in this novel. She faces prejudice in her own community, and she faces it again in the Upper Realms. Her desire to help people, all people, and the thoughtful way she pushes back against stereotypes really endears her to the characters around her and to the reader. The stereotypes in this are often inverted and it was really interesting to see a world where women hold the power. Bartlett did such a great job in showing female characters belittling males for their very maleness in the same way that the reverse is done in our own society.
But while these issues are important and play out in interesting ways, I have to own to enjoying the relationship between Jacs and Connor the most. The friendship was so sweet to read through their letters, but it turns into something even more adorable when the meet-cute happens and miscommunication, secret identities and prejudices get in the way of the two understanding each other. I also enjoyed the love rival of Hera and how she really encapsulated the power of privilege as so many of her actions should have seen her disqualified, but her armour was always her privilege and the favourable way others were inclined to see her.
The only thing I felt was missing - though it was there, was the fantasy elements. The main bits of fantasy we get are the spy crystals and griffins. Both are used really well in the plot but because we get so much more of Jacs scientific inventions and the focus is a lot more on politics, the world feels closer to historical fiction than to fantasy at times.
Verdict
This is Jack and the Beanstalks meets Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses. The characters are utterly endearing and the themes of prejudice and privilege are really well expressed.
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