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Melinda Salisbury was born in the 1980s in a landlocked city, before escaping to live by the sea. As a child, she genuinely thought Roald Dahl's Matilda was her biography. When she's not trying to unlock the hidden avenues of her mind, she's reading, writing, or travelling. She lives in the UK and can be found on Twitter as @AHintofMystery, though be warned she tweets often.
The Sin Eater's Daughter
eBook
$10.99
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ISBN-13:
9780545819732
- Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
- Publication date: 02/24/2015
- Sold by: Scholastic, Inc.
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 320
- Sales rank: 168,131
- File size: 10 MB
- Age Range: 14 - 17 Years
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Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, Twylla isn't exactly a member of the court. She's the executioner. As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla's fatal touch, avoids her company. But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla's been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen. However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?
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School Library Journal
11/01/2014Gr 7 Up—Seventeen-year-old Twylla has a gift and a curse as the embodiment of a goddess on Earth: she is worshipped and she can kill men in seconds with the briefest of touches. Twylla's mother is a Sin Eater, one who eats symbolic foods of the deceased person's sins at their grave site; Twylla is set to pursue this path until the Queen of Lormere takes her from her home to become the goddess Daunen Embodied. Every month, the teen ingests a poisonous substance that reinforces her position as the goddess's personification and the kingdom's executioner, and every month Twylla becomes more isolated. Her only hope of escape lies with her future marriage to Lormere's prince, Merek. Possible deliverance comes in the form of a new guard who joins her service—Lief is different from the others. He does not shrink away as his mistress draws near; he engages in conversation with her and asks questions. As the protagonist grows closer to Merek and Lief, she becomes more aware of how truly trapped she is in her role with the Queen—and how much she will have to sacrifice to break free. Salisbury's concept is not new: Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me (HarperCollins, 2011) and Kristin Cashore's Graceling (Houghton Harcourt, 2008) have similar heroines with tactile killing powers. However, her luscious world-building and mythology make this fantasy a worthy read. Twylla is strong and sensible, and teen fans of royal intrigue titles will be rooting for her.—Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX
Publishers Weekly
★ 12/01/2014This dark fantasy, Salisbury’s debut, transports readers to a kingdom ruled by a terrifying mad queen, the product of generations of incest, who has her enemies hunted down and torn apart by hounds. Seventeen-year-old Twylla, the prince’s betrothed and the human embodiment of the daughter of the gods, endures her duties at court—which include executing traitors with a mere touch of her poisonous skin—in hopes that money sent home will better her younger sister’s life. Though the clear-sighted prince hopes to enlist her as an ally against his cruel mother, Twylla begins to fall for her fearless and skeptical new guard, Lief, who reveals a shocking twist about Twylla’s position. In a triumph of characterization, Salisbury makes the path of duty represented by the prince and that of passion represented by Lief equally compelling. In addition to creating vivid and varied characters, Salisbury has a talent for worldbuilding, populating her world with shiver-inducing legends, original customs, and political and religious debates. First in a trilogy, this novel leaves many questions unresolved, but the open ending is nonetheless satisfying. Ages 14–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
* "In addition to creating vivid and varied characters, Salisbury has a talent for worldbuilding, populating her world with shiver-inducing legends, original customs, and political and religious debates." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
VOYA, February 2015 (Vol. 37, No. 6) - Kate Neff
I am the perfect weapon. I kill with a single touch.” That is the tagline on the cover flap of this series opener set in a faraway land called Lormere and centered on the speaker of that line, seventeen-year-old Twylla. Twylla is believed to be the newest incarnation of a magical daughter of the gods whose touch is poisonous to anyone except those in the royal family. Twylla has only known near-complete solitude for over half of her life when a new guard arrives to protect her (or protect others from her) and changes everything she thought she knew. Although there is a little bit of the typical love triangle that has become so frequent in young adult literature, there are enough twists to keep it interesting and fresh. Salisbury keeps the action moving and the plot thickening so the reader is compelled to keep going to see what will happen next. The setting feels like a fantasy novel, but nonfantasy readers will enjoy the book, too. This is an excellent debut and hopefully will be the first in a strong new series. Reviewer: Kate Neff; Ages 15 to 18.Kirkus Reviews
2014-11-04A peasant girl transplanted to the royal court repeatedly confronts death in her new life as executioner, entertainer and bride.Raised as the Sin Eater's daughter and apprentice, Twylla expected to deal with the deceased by eating food symbolizing their sins (to free their souls) and to grow morose and morbidly obese like her mother. But four years ago, she came to the court of Lormere and became Daunen Embodied—the king and queen are the other divine representatives—only to find herself delivering death instead of salvation. Petrified that Lormere will become like Tregellan (a science-minded democracy) or Tallith (abandoned for 500 years), mad queen Helewys controls the court through fear and religion (and even darker means). Twylla is literally untouchable—her skin seemingly made poisonous through a mystical ritual and mysterious potion. She misses her sister and still mourns her dead friend, but she nevertheless longs for companionship. Accordingly, two men vie for her affection: her new, Tregellian guard, Lief, who encourages her to question her faith, and her betrothed, Prince Merek, who pushes for political upheaval. Torn between the boys and her beliefs, Twylla suffers identity crises, court conspiracies and cruel revelations before being able to redefine herself. Through Twylla's deliberate, present-tense narration, Salisbury weaves a complex tale of romance, religion, fairy tales and politics. A slow but satisfying read with impressive depth and emotion. (Fantasy. 14 & up)