It has been quite a long time since I've read a book that I literally cannot put down, but this one qualifies. Tithe A Modern Faerie Tale, rather obviously, situates itself in an alternate reality where faeries exist, and Black weaves a fast-paced plot that keeps the reader turning the pages far past the time when he wanted to put down the book. The main character, Kaye, is well-drawn and intricate; she feels very much like a real person, and nearly all her actions ring true. Two other characte...more It has been quite a long time since I've read a book that I literally cannot put down, but this one qualifies. Tithe A Modern Faerie Tale, rather obviously, situates itself in an alternate reality where faeries exist, and Black weaves a fast-paced plot that keeps the reader turning the pages far past the time when he wanted to put down the book. The main character, Kaye, is well-drawn and intricate; she feels very much like a real person, and nearly all her actions ring true. Two other characters -- Corny and Lutie Loo -- really shine, too, and by the end of the novel I had grown rather fond of both. The writing is exceptional, fluid and descriptive and emotional, which is quite a relief: so much of the writing in young adult fiction nowadays is simply atrocious (I'm looking at you, Stephenie Meyer) that it's refreshing to find someone who's adept.

Of course, it's not perfect. The romance here doesn't grab me as much as the court politics and Kaye's inner struggle with the realization that she's fae. Indeed, Kaye's affair with Roiben feels more like a plot prop than anything organic, but that may have more to do with Roiben, who seems a bit too stereotypical (good guy gone bad), despite the narrator's repeated assurances that Roiben is unpredictable and different. In addition, there are certain parts were the action (or, more importantly, the explanations) seem to happen so fast that it feels almost as if important things were left out, and we readers have to fill in the blanks. I'm a rather smart cookie, and I remember being a bit confuzzled, particularly with the explanations of the courts and the Tithe.

That said, though, this is a very positive review. I'd read several downright scathing attacks, either here or on amazon, and so I was a bit skeptical when I started. As I expected, though, those reviews weren't sound in their judgments. One claimed, for instance, that the entire novel consisted of nothing more than cigarette smoking, and while there is a rather odd emphasis on it, there is certainly much more here. Another lampooned the novel because Kaye isn't exactly a saint throughout most of it, but then again, who is nowadays? (Certainly not Bella from Twilight, considering her entire raison d'être involves dating and repeatedly trying to sacrifice herself for the most emo, conflicted non-man I've ever had the pleasure of bibliomeeting).

Here's the point: If you like young adult paranormal/fantasy romance/adventure, you should probably give this book a glimpse. I liked it enough that I plan on going out to the bookstore tomorrow to buy the sequel, Ironside A Modern Faery's Tale. ( )

This book has been out for a while but for some reason I avoided it. When I first discovered it (years after it was written) I'm pretty sure I had had my fill of fairies at the time - having read Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I had also heard people say how if you read Wicked Lovely first - you wouldn't like Tithe and vice-versa. So! I figured it would be a dud for me and I forgot about it for a while. And then! Well...I don't know why I thought about it again but the point is I did! And I'm glad I did. This book was amazing for me! I really really enjoyed it. It was edgy and witty and portrays faeries in a no nonsense way. They are what they are and Kaye is a part of that life whether she likes it or not.
I really enjoyed the variety of characters - Kaye's crazy mother and overbearing grandmother - Cory, her best friend's gay brother who turns out to be a unlikely friend, of course there is beautiful and dangerous Roiben and The Thiselwitch who I found fascinating.
The first in a series, I'm curious to see where it goes. I have to say, I think I liked Tithe just a bit more then Wicked Lovely. The world of faerie that Black created just appeals to me more. Theirs is a world that exists besides ours but could exist on it's own. I always felt like Marr's fairy world was too dependent on reality - if that makes any sense at all :)
I would recommend this one to anyone who likes a good fairy fantasy story. ( )

Kaye, is an aimless high school dropout whose possibly alcoholic mother moves from place to place with whatever band she happens to be in at the moment. When her mom's boyfriend attacks her mom, they move back to New Jersey to live with her grandmother, where she grew up. While reconnecting with grade school friends, she misses her other friends, the faeries who were her playmates as a little girl. It isn't long before strange things start to happen to her, and she begins to find out the strange history of the world of Faerie and her own story.

Kaye is a likeable enough heroine, and there were aspects of this story that were interesting. It didn't have a lot of substance to it, and was not especially ground-breaking or well-written. After being underwhelmed by the Spiderwick Chronicles, I probably should not have expected more from this, but I did hope, after all the rave reviews, that it would be something special. Finally, as something of a side note, I am not someone who believes YA should be totally sanitized, and everybody likes a bad girl, right? However, I thought this novel unnecessarily glamorized smoking/excessive drinking/blase attitude to sex/dropping out of school. I'm not moralistically uncomfortable with it, it just seemed to be trying a little too hard to be edgy, without the realism that would have made everything a bit more compelling. ( )

meh ( )

Holly Black stabs at the dark heart of faerie and delivers a realm to readers that is both enticing, addictive, and macabre. "Tithe" is a black carnival of treats where the crimson candy apple you're sucking on has a razor sweet surprise hidden in its very core.

Black's unvarnished portrayal of misfit Kaye Fierch as today's disaffected youth is successful and realistic. Finding herself in the middle of a chaotic faerie turf war and questioning her own murky origins, she embarks on an otherworldly quest that straddles light and dark.

At her side, a bloodthirsty knight named Roiben sworn to serve the Unseelie, and Corny her best friend, must brave the obstacles that pit them against the dark Unseelie queen Nicnevin and the Seelie queen Silarial. Without the "Tithe" to keep the solitary fey in check, Kaye and her conspirators tip a ruthless power struggle into the real world.

This gloaming realm of viscous pixies, satyrs, dwarves and the like is compellingly tasty down to the very last red drop.Copyright(c)Nicola Mattos ( )