I’m an enormous fan of Veronica Roth. From her early days with Divergent to her more recent work, I’ve enjoyed her writing and world-building. To say I was excited for her new fantasy novella is an enormous understatement. With touches of Slavic folklore, magical objects, and the Baba Jaga, When Among Crows is unlike any other Veronica Roth book I’ve read.

Amazon / Goodreads

Synopsis:

When Among Crows is swift and striking, drawing from the deep well of Slavic folklore and asking if redemption and atonement can be found in embracing what we most fear.

We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword.

Pain is Dymitr’s calling. His family is one in a long line of hunters who sacrifice their souls to slay monsters. Now he’s tasked with a deadly mission: find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. To reach her, Dymitr must ally with the ones he’s sworn to kill.

Pain is Ala’s inheritance. A fear-eating zmora with little left to lose, Ala awaits death from the curse she carries. When Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help, she has no choice but to agree.

Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitr’s secrets—and his true motives—may be the thing that actually destroys them.

“Lovely, lush, and full of otherworldly longing, this modern fairytale about righteousness and the weight we bear for love is Roth at her most imaginative and ethereal.”—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Review:

Ala is a zmora, a paranormal creature who feasts on the fear of others. She also suffers from a generational curse that has passed through the women in her family. Dymitr is a human, but he comes from a long line of hunters who track down and kill zmoras. When Among Crows tells the story of their journey together to find the Baba Jaga. It’s a story of revenge, atonement, and sacrifice.

There’s a lot to love in When Among Crows and longtime readers of Roth will recognize some of her well-loved tropes and elements. Chicago plays a part in most (all?) of Roth’s books, and When Among Crows is no exception. However, Roth makes a drastic genre shift in When Among Crows, trading in speculative science fiction for urban paranormal fantasy. I loved this genre switch for her and thought the tone of the writing was precise.

While I enjoyed the urban fantasy setting and world, I had issues with how Ala’s curse was handled. Ala’s curse is generational and has attacked the women in her family. In a lot of ways, the effects of her curse felt similar to some mental illnesses in our real world. It also just felt disability-coded to me. In a fantasy world where no other disabilities are present, curses can be seen as stand-ins for disabilities. We saw something similar in A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft earlier this year. In my opinion, using curses as a disability in a fantasy world or setting isn’t bad in and of itself. I thought A Fragile Enchantment was excellent and extremely well done. For a deep dive into the topic, here’s a really thorough YouTube examination of curses as disabilities in fantasy films and movies. All that said, When Among Crows crossed a line I’m uncomfortable with in my books.

<<Spoilers ahead for the ending of the novella>>

I started feeling uncomfortable when everyone started discussing curing Ala of her curse. People more studied than me have discussed the issues around magical cures in literature. This article by Marieke Nijkamp (author of the beautiful DC graphic novel The Oracle Code) is excellent. Here’s another great post about miracle cures.

So why did I keep reading once the curse curing talk started? I hoped for a twist. While readers are given a twist ending in When Among Crows, it wasn’t the twist I hoped for. The twist had nothing to do with Ala’s curse and its cure. The story seemed more interested in curing Ala and having that plot point nicely tied up. I desperately wish Ala’s story had been told differently. While this isn’t the most egregious story I’ve ever read, I think it could have been improved.

Final Thoughts:

When Among Crows is well-written – there’s no doubt about that. I liked the paranormal world and the creatures who inhabit that world. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t say I like how the curse was handled. If Roth writes more in this world, I would consider reading it.

For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed the audiobook of When Among Crows. It was extremely well narrated and produced. If you do pick up the novella, I recommend that format.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audio arc!