The Bird and the Blade

by Megan Bannen

Overview

A sweeping and tragic debut novel perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Megan Whalen Turner. This young adult novel is an excellent choice for accelerated tween readers in grades 7 to 8, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

The Bird and the Blade is a lush, powerful story of life and death, battles and riddles, lies and secrets from author Megan Bannen.

Enslaved in Kipchak Khanate, Jinghua has lost everything: her home, her family, her freedom . . . until the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces and she finds herself an unlikely conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his irascible father across the vast Mongol Empire.

On the run, with adversaries on all sides and an endless journey ahead, Jinghua hatches a scheme to use the Kipchaks’ exile to return home, a plan that becomes increasingly fraught as her feelings for Khalaf evolve into an impossible love.

Jinghua’s already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand—and if they fail, they die.

Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf’s kingdom—and his very life—on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she’s capable of . . . even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062674166
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	506,702
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Megan Bannen is a librarian and the author of The Bird and the Blade. In her spare time, she collects graduate degrees from Kansas colleges and universities. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, their two sons, and a few too many pets with literary names. She can be found online at www.meganbannen.com.

Editorial Reviews

The Bird and the Blade is a tale filled with magic and mystery. It will entrance you from the first page. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, this story will linger long after you have finished reading.” — #1 NYT bestselling author Renèe Ahdieh

★ “Lavish, sweeping, and powerful…. A must-read for fans of heart-wrenching, sob-your-heart-out YA.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A rich, imaginative tale that delivers thrilling characters, heartstopping action, and exciting intrigue with every turn of the page.” — Booklist

“At once haunting and compelling, this tale of love and loalty will wreck you. Exquisite from the first note to the last.” — Natalie C. Parker, author of Beware the Wild

“The Bird and the Blade has everything I want in a novel: vivid characters, sumptuous prose, romance, funny dialogue, and a sweeping storyline in an intricately researched world. This story will break your heart—but it will remake it, too.” — Rosalyn Eves, author of Blood Rose Rebellion

“Will leave readers in tears” — School Library Journal

“A magical and tragic romantic adventure.” — Publishers Weekly

“Clever twists and narrative devices will make this novel a favorite.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

From the Publisher

A rich, imaginative tale that delivers thrilling characters, heartstopping action, and exciting intrigue with every turn of the page.

Booklist

At once haunting and compelling, this tale of love and loalty will wreck you. Exquisite from the first note to the last.

Natalie C. Parker

The Bird and the Blade has everything I want in a novel: vivid characters, sumptuous prose, romance, funny dialogue, and a sweeping storyline in an intricately researched world. This story will break your heart—but it will remake it, too.

Rosalyn Eves

A rich, imaginative tale that delivers thrilling characters, heartstopping action, and exciting intrigue with every turn of the page.

Booklist

06/04/2018
In this epic historical fantasy set against the backdrop of the 13th-century Mongol Empire, Jinghua, a Chinese slave girl, finds her fate irrevocably tied to that of a fallen khan and his son as they seek refuge and a way to restore their fortunes. With her home destroyed and family slaughtered, Jinghua chooses to follow Prince Khalaf, slowly falling in love with him during their long, arduous journey. However, Khalaf intends to marry the powerful Turandokht, daughter of the Great Khan and heir to the empire. First, he must solve her three riddles, and failure means certain execution. Jinghua must find a way to aid Khalaf, even if success means that their relationship is doomed. Drawing inspiration from multiple sources, particularly the opera Turandot, debut author Bannen weaves a magical and tragic romantic adventure. As she admits in the endnotes, the author takes liberties with historical accuracy in the name of storytelling; that, combined with a contemporary feel for language and dialogue, creates an anachronistic yet immersive reading experience. Memorable characters share a natural chemistry, and lush descriptions bring the world to life. Ages 13–up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

The Bird and the Blade is a tale filled with magic and mystery. It will entrance you from the first page. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, this story will linger long after you have finished reading.

#1 NYT bestselling author Renèe Ahdieh

Clever twists and narrative devices will make this novel a favorite.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

The Bird and the Blade is a tale filled with magic and mystery. It will entrance you from the first page. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, this story will linger long after you have finished reading.

#1 NYT bestselling author Renee Ahdieh

05/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—As a slave in one of the kingdoms of the Mongol empire, Jinghua is in dire straits until the kingdom is conquered by a rival horde. She escapes with Prince Khalaf and his father and very little else. On the run for their lives and with a bounty on the prince's head, Jinghua uses their situation as a way to return to her home. However, she soon becomes attracted to the smart and kindly prince. Khalaf decides to wed the Great Khan's daughter as a way to restore his kingdom, but the princess has set a challenge of three riddles for any potential suitors, with a death sentence for those who do not succeed. Faced with the possible death of the prince, Jinghua must confront her past decisions and admit to loving him, even if it means she loses Prince Khalaf forever. The plot moves along steadily, with lots of twists, finally building to a climax that will leave readers in tears. The characters are complex and realistic. Based on the opera, Turandot, and the history of the Mongol Empire, this novel will appeal to fantasy and romance readers as well as historical fiction fans. VERDICT A first purchase for libraries.—Terri Lent, Patrick Henry High School, Ashland, VA

School Library Journal

Emily Woo Zeller narrates the story of Jinghua, a slave in the Mongol Empire, and Khalaf, the young prince with whom she finds friendship and falls in love. Set in the late thirteenth century, this young adult adaptation of Puccini's TURANDOT is full of heartbreaking realities of a war-torn region that reflect today’s world conflicts. Despite beautifully spoken foreign words throughout the audiobook, Zeller’s overall performance is uneven. Jinghua often sounds overly excited and anxious, her tone sounding like that of a contemporary teenage girl, while Khalaf sounds like the intelligent, kind thirteenth-century young man described in the text. Regardless, the ending will have the listener shedding tears of sorrow. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

JULY 2018 - AudioFile

Emily Woo Zeller narrates the story of Jinghua, a slave in the Mongol Empire, and Khalaf, the young prince with whom she finds friendship and falls in love. Set in the late thirteenth century, this young adult adaptation of Puccini's TURANDOT is full of heartbreaking realities of a war-torn region that reflect today’s world conflicts. Despite beautifully spoken foreign words throughout the audiobook, Zeller’s overall performance is uneven. Jinghua often sounds overly excited and anxious, her tone sounding like that of a contemporary teenage girl, while Khalaf sounds like the intelligent, kind thirteenth-century young man described in the text. Regardless, the ending will have the listener shedding tears of sorrow. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

JULY 2018 - AudioFile

★ 2018-04-03
A Mongol slave must choose between escaping her captivity and saving the man she loves. When the Chinese Song dynasty is conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in 1279, Jinghua is enslaved by the Khipchak khanate. In autumn of 1280, the khanate itself is overthrown by enemy forces, and the exiled Timur Khan and his youngest son, Prince Khalaf, must flee. Jinghua joins their fugitive party disguised as a boy. Traveling across the vast Mongol Empire, Khalaf finds comfort in Jinghua's companionship, and they bond over Hanyu (Mandarin Chinese) lessons and poetry as, against her better judgment, she falls in love with him. Alas, Khalaf devises a plan of last resort to save his kingdom—he will marry Turandokht (yes, as in Puccini's Turandot), the beautiful but heartless daughter of the Great Khan; however, potential suitors must solve three riddles or face execution. With Khalaf's life at stake, Jinghua must prove her mettle, even if it means sacrificing the one thing that she holds most dear. Though the tale is ancient and epic, this is a fast-paced page-turner. Thorough research helps build a believable 13th-century Mongolia, and the Romanized Mandarin Chinese is used precisely, right down to the tonal inflections. Lavish, sweeping, and powerful, this is a love story, tragicomedy, and history lesson rolled into one.A must-read for fans of heart-wrenching, sob-your-heart-out YA. (cast of characters, map, historical notes, author's note, glossary) (Historical fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews