Dylan Farrow

Shea begins to notice strange things happening around her after her brother dies of the Blot (a deadly disease thought to be caused by ink) Her mother has stopped speaking, the village is suffering from a severe drought, and, strangest, of all, many of the things she embroiders appear in reality. Convinced this is being caused by a curse, and despite being shunned by the village, she decides to seek out the Bards to get them to lift it. Unfortunately, when she is finally able to speak to show more one, he tells her to leave. Hours later, she discovers her mother dead, murdered by a golden dagger used by Bards.

She moves into the village but her insistence that her mother was killed by a Bard causes the villagers to insist she leave. She decides to find High House, the home of the Bards, to seek justice for her mother. Instead, she discovers secrets about the curse, her mother's death, and herself.

Hush is the debut fantasy novel by Dylan Farrow and, honestly, I liked it but I didn't love it. There was a great deal of potential especially in her description of a world where education and even writing are considered dangerous and where a legend that has sustained people for centuries is now banned. The biggest problem with the novel is Shea herself. Many of her actions seems, at best, naive and I found myself questioning many of her actions which contradict everything she should know to be, at best, very unlikely and, at worst, extremely dangerous and not just to her.

Still, as I said, it is a debut and, if it frustrated me at times, it kept me reading to the end and wanting to know what will happen next so, overall, I would give it two stars for character development and four stars for world building and plot so three and a half stars it is.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Yes
Level: High School

I honestly didn’t know much about this book before starting it, only that it had a cool cover and looked intriguing. Hush is Dylan Farrow’s debut fantasy novel, and has a surprising amount of real-world context. In her Author’s Note, Farrow describes a time in which her family was being blackmailed and made to look terrible, and that this book is her way of showcasing what gaslighting and manipulation looks show more like. While I didn’t necessarily see this at first, after reading about the author’s experience, I suddenly realized just how much manipulation I had missed. The writing is by no means perfect, but this was a highly engaging and suspenseful fantasy story that I’d love to read more of in the future.

Hush follows the story of 17-year-old Shae, who has spent her entire life being ostracized by the other inhabitants of the small town of Aster. When Shae was young, a vicious plague known as the Blot wiped out countless numbers of people, including her younger brother. Because of this, Shae’s mother has taken a vow of silence, and the rest of the town avoids the two as if they might be infected simply through association. Her only solace is her mother; her childhood friend Fiona; and Mads, a boy desperately seeking her affection. Everything changes for Shae when the Bards - powerful sorcerers with the ability to help those in need - come to her town, and her mother winds up dead. Devastated, Shae desperately seeks the truth, but is dismissed as crazy by everyone she turns to. Undeterred, Shae travels to the High House (the legendary home of the Bards) to seek the truth that nobody else dares question.

This book felt particularly poignant in today’s climate simply because it is centered around a deadly plague. Unlike our own plague, however, this one centers around ink, paper, and forbidden words, which immediately gives it a really cool premise. It feels a lot like Fahrenheit 451 or other such dystopian works, as the people of this world are forbidden from speaking certain words and learning how to read and write. In a world filled with fake news available to us at the touch of a button, this story has the potential to really resonate with young audiences, especially when we learn that the Blot may not come from paper and ink at all, but from the very ruler entrusted to protect everyone.

Another poignant subject this book deals with is gaslighting and emotional manipulation. From the very beginning, Shae encounters a number of characters who either refuse to believe her, or downright lie to her to make her question her own reality. This is textbook gaslighting, and I only wish there had been actual mention of this term in the book, as it’s crucially important for young people to recognize when someone is gaslighting them. This theme continues when Shae encounters Cathal, the enigmatic ruler who initially treats her with kindness and later turns out to be a master manipulator. Though I saw this coming a mile away, I imagine a teenager unused to this sort of manipulation might be blind-sided by the twist, and I think that’s an important lesson for young readers.

This book also handles the idea of prevalent sexism. In this universe, women are rarely gifted with the abilities of a Bard, and are seen to succeed less often because they are “simply too emotional” to handle the job and eventually go crazy. I liked that Shae and Kennan flipped this idea onto its head, as both are incredibly powerful and strong-willed, representing strong female characters in different ways. Where Shae is open and vulnerable, Kennan is closed off and cold, and yet both combat the notion that women are fragile and easily broken by their own emotions. I’m really hoping they team up and become friends in later books, as I am a huge fan of female friendships and think they’d make a pretty kick-ass duo.

My only real gripe is that the romance felt very forced to me. While it has not yet been reciprocated (I sense Farrow is trying for a slow burn), Shae seems entirely too infatuated with Ravod from the very beginning. She initially comes to High House demanding answers for her mother’s murder, but keeps getting distracted by Ravod, nearly swooning every time she sees him. For a strong character who initially rejected the proposal of her first love because he wasn’t being supportive enough, this just felt out of place. While I hope this romance develops more in the future, I just wasn’t quite sold on it in this particular book, especially since Ravod seems very much like the stereotypical brooding YA love interest. It’d be much more interesting if Shae had a thing for Kennan, but I won’t hold my breath on that one.

Despite my issues with the romance, I actually genuinely enjoyed this book, especially for a debut fantasy novel. It seems as though almost everything has been done to death at this point, but this concept and world still felt very refreshing to me. I liked the strong female heroine fighting for her mother, and I especially liked the messages about gaslighting and a system designed to keep the lower classes in poverty. There’s a lot of good stuff happening in a relatively short book, and I found myself saying “Just one more chapter,” each time I was left on a cliffhanger. Based on the loose ends left during the Epilogue, I sense that this is going to be a series, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to give the second book a chance whenever it releases. I would recommend this to teen fans of fantasy, as I think it has a lot of potential to be a great series. show less

Words hold more magic and power than life itself in this fast-paced read, which introduces an intriguing theme and world.

Written words and ink can kill and are forbidden in Shae's world. Considering she lost her own brother to the plague ink brought, this is something she'll never question. But sometimes words hold magic in the spoken form too. When the Bards come to town, their Tellings can bring the blessings so desperately needed, but their price is a tithe that the town can't afford. show more Shae herself is sure, after her brother's death, that she might be cursed thanks to the plague too, and seeks out the Bards for help. Instead, she finds her mother dead on the floor, stabbed with a golden dagger. But despite promises of finding the murderer, the town tries to shove the death under the rug. Shae refuses to ignore her mother's death and decides to take matters into her own hands. But when she travels out to find the Bards and, hopefully, the murderer, she runs into more than she would have ever dreamed.

First off, I had no clue this was written by a well-known personality, one of Mia Farrow's children. Which in this case is probably good because it definitely didn't effect how I saw the book.

This is a very interestingly woven theme and surmise. The readers meets Shae in a small, rustic, farming town, where people work hard, food is scarce and life is tough. The author spends a few chapters letting the reader get to know Shae and her situation. It's hard not to like Shae and root for her as her desire for truth, difficult past, and shunned status make her easy to sympathize. The writing flows very well in these first chapters, introduces friends, secrets and heart-ache. The first encounter with the Bards offers a wonderful touch of mystery and magic and nods at what is to come. These chapters drew me in and had me excited to read the rest.

The rest, however, isn't as tight.

The writing is honestly well done and the author definitely has talent, but the story didn't always take the time to give characters enough depth to care about them and often made decision jumps, which made me wonder what in the world had just happened. It's as if too much was pushing through too fast, and there were even a couple moments which confused. Yet, I didn't want to put this one down, either, because it is an interesting tale with so many tense moments and intrigue. But the further along the story goes, the more stumbles hurt the flow. Especially the ending left me with a 'huh?' as a character from early on suddenly reappears to 'help', which I have no clue why. It just happened as if it had to for whatever comes in the next book. And that is too bad because I could have loved this read and desperately wanted to. show less

"Perhaps I made a mistake by trusting him, but his mistake is underestimating me."

This book can be summed up in three words: Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss.

Shae is a headstrong, albeit stubborn, young woman who isn't afraid to ask questions and push the envelope when things aren't adding up. What starts out as an unfortunate tale of a poor town plagued by illness turns into a world where nothing is at it seems.

I thought the premise for this story was interesting and the magic system show more 'tellings' was unique.

I'm interested to see how Dylan Farrow wraps this story up next the next book. show less