Threadneedle

 

Title: Threadneedle

Author: Cari Thomas

Publisher: 2nd June 2021 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 576 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: young adult, urban fantasy, witches, contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic. ‘Magic and love. Love and magic. They destroy everything in the end …’

Anna’s Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences.

Now Anna counts down the days to the ceremony that will bind her magic forever.

Until she meets Effie and Attis.

They open her eyes to a London she never knew existed. A shop that sells memories. A secret library where the librarian feeds off words. A club where revellers lose themselves in a haze of spells.

But as she is swept deeper into this world, Anna begins to wonder if her Aunt was right all along.

Is her magic a gift … or a curse?

My Thoughts

Threadneedle is the first instalment of a new YA fantasy series. The idea of creating a fantasy in contemporary London was very clever. It is great for young readers to relate to as we follow teenager Anna who is being raised by her Aunt after the death of her parents. Her Aunt believes magic is a sin and should be denied or controlled, thus she is insisting Anna be ‘bound’ and become a trained Binder through magic stitchery (her magic is bound and no longer usable). 

‘Rules. They were the grid lines of her life. They gave things a framework for measurement, for meaning. In her head the grid lines began to rise up, criss-crossing, entangling, floating off into space - but what was left? A rootless, drifting world.’

It is a long book and can at times become slow but the ending is truly worth the journey. Although the first in a new series, there is an ending that is conclusive but with obvious room to grow. This is also most definitely a young adult book with teen dramas and behaviours. Yet a worthy coming of age tale through the exploration of magic -  how clever! 

The themes of this book can be best summarised by the author herself: ‘What drove me to write Threadneedle is just how relevant these questions still feel today (witches: powerful women who must be put back in their place) … tensions running throughout the book (include) - repression, rumour, gossip, fear - but at its heart: feminine power and sisterhood.’

‘All of us. Witches. Women. Souls who question the way things are - free-thinkers, deep-thinkers, the cows who hoped to jump over the moon. All are at risk. Especially the cursed.'  

I believe this is to be a great YA read - beyond the whole teenager angst and schoolyard pranks - there is room through Cari’s good writing to sympathise with Anna who does not agree with her Aunt and wishes for a different future. There are a range of strong characters and some, like Effie and Attis, play pivotal roles.

I enjoyed this book with an ending I found most compelling. Young people will gain much from Anna’s journey to discovery - about her family, her magic and ultimately, herself. 

‘Why would you want to be like other people? I hate other people. We belong to legend, to fairy tale and storybook … Witches, sorceresses and enchantresses … fairy godmothers or wizened hags in the dark of the woods. Sacred. Sinners. Wonders. Wicked. Virgins. Whores. Call us what you will. It's our duty to bring magic into this world.'

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.